Brazil debuts in the 2026 World Cup this Saturday (13), at 7pm (Brasília time), at the New York New Jersey Stadium, in the United States, in a game valid for the first round of Group C of the World Cup. The match will be against the Morocco National Team, the third team with the most players from other countries in the World Cup.
the Moroccans have 19 players, among the 26 called up, who were born in France, Spain, Belgium, Holland and Canada.
Among the prominent names, Brahim Díaz, from Real Madrid and ex-Manchester City, is Spanish. The full-back is one of Paris Saint-Germain’s highlights, having won the last two Champions Leagues.
Frenchmen Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille — former captain of the France under-21 team, and young Ismael Saibari, who plays for PSV and has been targeted by Bayern Munich, will also wear the shirt of the African continent’s national team.
Injuries worry Morocco before duel against Brazil in the World Cup • Disclosure/MoroccoThe Moroccan ancestry of the players mentioned, who were mostly born in European countries, is a reflection of the movement known as the African diaspora. The historical process resulted in the dispersion of millions of people from Africa to other continents, mainly during the period of the slave trade.
In addition to the large presence of “foreigners” at this World Cup, a survey by the University of Oxford, in England, points out that in the last ten years, the Moroccan team had 61 people born in other countries, with around half of them choosing to play for the Moroccan team.
This week, the African team lost two important names: defender Nayef Aguerd, from Olympique de Marseille, and left midfielder Abde Ezzalzouli, one of Betis’ standouts.
Moroccan players who were born in another country
- Issa Diop (France)
- Redouane Halhal (France)
- Neil El Aynaoui (France)
- Samir El Mourabet (France)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (França)
- Gessime Yassine (France)
- Munir Mohamedi (Spain)
- Achraf Hakimi (Espanha)
- Chadi Riyadh (Spain)
- Ismael Saibari (Spain)
- Brahim Díaz (Spain)
- Ayoube Amaimouni (Spain)
- Zakaria El Ouahdi (Belgium)
- Bilal El Khannouss (Belgium)
- Chemsdine Talbi (Belgium)
- Noussair Mazraoui (Holanda)
- Anass Salah-Eddine (Holanda)
- Sofyan Amrabat (Holland)
- Yassine Bounou (Canada)
