Rabat – The Moroccan U-17 national team has landed in Doha to finalise their preparations for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 202 which will take place from November 3 to 27.

Just hours after arrival, the Atlas Cubs were back on the pitch, working on their tactics and getting used to the local weather.

The mood in the camp shows a team that wants to perform, to make their country proud, and to follow the footsteps of the U20 team who made history by winning the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.

“We want to repeat the U20’s feat”

After a tough training camp in the UAE where they played against Venezuela and Switzerland, the U-17s are in Qatar. With players developing in top European academies, Morocco’s youth system is showing its growing international competitiveness.

In an interview with the official website of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Ouazane spoke about the team’s preparation and mindset before their first match:

“We are preparing well for our first match against Japan, God willing. We had intense training in the UAE where we played two friendly matches against Venezuela and Switzerland.”

“The first match ended 3–3 against Venezuela. It was tough, but at least we didn’t lose. We won the second match.”

Morocco will play their FIFA U17 World Cup debut on Monday against Japan at 2:30 p.m. (GMT+1) in Doha. This is the first match of Group C which also includes Portugal and New Caledonia.

“Now the most important thing for us is to prepare well to beat Japan. We want to repeat the U-20’s feat. We are following in their footsteps and want to reproduce this great performance that will make us proud of the Kingdom of Morocco. We are ready for this and to show our talent and abilities with the national team.”

For Ouazane and his teammates, building on the recent success of the U-20s, Morocco’s U-17s would like to convert preparation into performance on the field.