Morocco played Burundi in a friendly at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé on Tuesday, May 26, a match Mohamed Ouahbi expected to use as a final evaluation before confirming his World Cup squad.
The game arrived on the last day of Morocco’s preparation window and was timed for a wide audience: kick-off was listed at 12:00 p.m. local time — 12 p.m. BST and 7 a.m. ET — and could be watched free in Morocco on SNRT Live via the Arryadia channel.
Ouahbi, who took charge in March, has been shaping a team that will enter Group C at the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. Since his appointment, Morocco drew 1-1 with Ecuador and beat Paraguay 2-1 in warm-up matches; the Burundi friendly was one of the final filters before the squad list was expected to be confirmed later on Tuesday during a press conference at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.
The preparation program scheduled a short slate of friendlies before the tournament, which included matches against Burundi, Madagascar and Norway. The fixtures were designed to test systems and personnel quickly, leaving Ouahbi little margin for error as he trimmed his selection ahead of the World Cup.
Burundi entered the match as underdogs and were expected to defend deep, close central spaces and to attempt to make the contest physical. That approach presented a familiar challenge: breaking low blocks and maintaining attacking rhythm under pressure — the specific issues Ouahbi’s side needed to resolve before Group C play begins.
For Morocco, the friendly was less about the result and more about rhythm and choice. Ouahbi’s recent line-up experiments produced mixed signals — a draw with Ecuador and a narrow win over Paraguay — and the coaching staff needed clear answers on balance, pressing and personnel form before the press conference that was due to finalize the travelling party.
The tension in Salé was straightforward. A compact Burundi would give Morocco the chance to show it can unlock crowded central areas; failure to do so would force hard decisions about personnel and tactics in the squad announcement. Ouahbi’s final selections will reveal whether he trusts the current core to carry an attacking tempo against World Cup opposition or will instead prize defensive solidity and match control.
By evening, when the final list was expected to be made public at the Mohammed VI Football Complex, the team Ouahbi names should clarify his plan for Group C and send a signal about how Morocco intend to face Brazil, Scotland and Haiti in 2026. The squad announcement will be the clearest measure yet of whether the last friendlies delivered the answers Ouahbi wanted.
