00:00And speaking of Morocco, we have to talk about what Morocco just did in the U-20 World Cup.
00:04Champions of the world in the under-20 division, beating Argentina 2-0 in the final.
00:09Guys, Morocco has probably cemented itself as a footballing nation.
00:12That's probably my take right now.
00:14I think that Morocco can consider itself a top 8, top 9 nation when it comes to the abilities that they have as a global resume for football.
00:22Not just on the men's side, but on the women's side as well.
00:24There's precedent in the past for African nations having done very well in youth tournaments.
00:29Nigeria beating Argentina in the final.
00:31Ghana going all the way in 2009.
00:35But it has never really translated into semifinal or final success for African nations at the major World Cup for men.
00:42So we're looking at a Morocco team that did very well in the last World Cup, is about to host AFCON.
00:48What can they do going into the World Cup?
00:50This Morocco team heading into the 2026 World Cup is going to have some of the highest expectations we've ever had for an African team at a World Cup.
00:57So you mentioned fresh off the 2022 semifinals.
01:00They're going to be fresh off hosting AFCON, where a lot of us think they'll probably make at least a semifinal appearance.
01:04You have the likes of Ashraf Hakimi, who is a Ballon d'Or candidate, and he might become one once again.
01:09Now you have the U-20 World Cup winners.
01:11On top of all the financial investment in that country, again, on both the men and women's side,
01:16you can feel that this isn't just a moment, but it's actually a movement in Morocco.
01:20So I think they're going to do really well.
01:22I think bare minimum, I'll give them quarterfinals at the 2026 World Cup.
01:26But it's great to see the building from the foundation that they're doing.
01:29And then now going into these major tournaments, they feel like one of the big dogs because they are one of the big dogs.
01:35And that's how I see them for 2026.
01:37Yeah, I think for me, really, like, I personally think Morocco can win the World Cup next year.
01:43Bang.
01:43I think if they bring in, like, four to five young players from this U-20 team, like, they can have, like, almost, like, the perfect squad.
01:54I think they relied on the last World Cup, a lot of the experience that they had.
01:57If you look at, like, the likes of Amrabat, Ziyech, Bonu, Hakimi, a lot of these players are in their, like, mid-20s to early-30s.
02:07And that experience carried them all the way to the semifinal.
02:10But we see that, like, there's a lot of moments where they just have fatigue.
02:14Like, they didn't have those, like, that young spark coming off the Brents, bringing in a lot of energy.
02:18If you bring in, like, four or five of these guys who have shown that they could win an international tournament, they might have the perfect recipe.
02:26Yeah.
02:27Speaking of youth players that really, really did well for Morocco in this tournament, you have two, a deadly duo for the Moroccans, Offman Mama and Yassir Zubiri.
02:35Mama is a little bit of a CR7 regen, wears the number seven, moves like Ronaldo.
02:39Although, you can tell he watched a lot of highlights of El Bicho growing up.
02:42Zubiri, as well, scored two goals in the final.
02:45But Mama, being a player who played in Ligue 1 for Montpellier, you can see his highlights, what he did in Ligue 1, is just a testament to how far he can go.
02:53And he's a player who is on the same list as folks like Messi, Aguero, and Pogba.
02:58Because having won the golden ball at the U-20 tournament puts him among those names.
03:01And so this kind of brings me to my next question, Kendrick, you kind of already answered it.
03:05But what is success or what is failure for Morocco in the next two international tournaments?
03:09AFCON and World Cup.
03:10And I can start.
03:11I think AFCON, they have to win it.
03:13I think their hosts, their hosts, they have to win it.
03:15There's no excuse.
03:16And World Cup, I think going into a World Cup, I'm not as ambitious as you, Kendrick, but I think at least a semifinal.
03:23Today's date is October 23rd, 2025.
03:26I'm saying it now.
03:27Morocco, the Atlas Lions, they're the giant slayer.
03:31They're going to go on to win AFCON, and they're going to go on to win the World Cup.
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