Brahim Diaz of Morocco celebrates goal with team players during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON match between Morocco and Comoros at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on 21 December 2025 ©Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix
Saturday Mar 28, 2026. 13:00
Newly appointed Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi’s first game in charge ended in a 1-1 draw with Ecuador at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid on Friday.
After a goalless first half, Ecuador struck first with John Yeboah finding the back of the net in the third minute of the second half.
However, the Atlas Lions rallied late as Neil El Aynaoui bagged an 88th minute equaliser to secure a draw for the eighth ranked nation in the world.
Speaking after the match, Ouahbi was full of praise for the opposition as well as his own side.
“I’m very happy to play matches like this, it’s really very interesting. From the start, we knew it was going to be a tough match; they’re a good team,” said Ouahbi.
“Athletically, it’s true that we knew we were going to have a physical battle. We were able to react at times; sometimes we were put under pressure, but we kept going. I’m very happy with what we put in place, very happy also that we went after the players, we were aggressive.”
The FIFA U-20 World Cup winner stated that there will be changes to his line-up for Morocco’s upcoming clash with Paraguay at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, France, on Tuesday.
“What I’m preparing for is the World Cup. Today I made changes, and I’ll do it again in the next match. I’ll field the best team with the World Cup in mind. So we’re going to try to be competitive while making changes and giving everyone an opportunity.”