Morocco–Gabon: Atlas Lions begin road to 2027 with youth, ambition and caution

Morocco return to competitive action against Gabon at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on Friday, 25 September. Kick-off is scheduled for 19:00 GMT, which is 20:00 in Morocco and 21:00 in Paris. The fixture opens Group A, which also includes Niger and Lesotho.

It is Morocco’s first official match since the 2026 World Cup and Mohamed Ouahbi’s first competitive assignment with the senior national team. His immediate objective is a home victory, but the game will also offer the first clear indication of how he intends to combine Morocco’s established core with a new generation.

Ouahbi selected 29 players for the matches against Gabon and Lesotho and the friendly against Ghana. Yassine Bounou, Noussair Mazraoui, Nayef Aguerd, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss, Brahim Diaz, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli and Soufiane Rahimi provide experience. Abdellah Ouazane, Soufiane El-Faouzi and Yassir Zabiri are uncapped additions, while Yassine Gessime and Tawfik Bentayeb expand the attacking options.

Morocco will, however, be without four important players. Captain Achraf Hakimi and Ismaël Saibari are suspended, while Ayoub El Kaabi and Chadi Riad are injured. Hakimi’s absence creates a major question on the right flank, while the absences of El Kaabi and Saibari force Ouahbi to redesign part of his attacking structure.

At the time of publication, neither the Moroccan federation nor CAF had released an official starting XI. Any lineup circulating before the institutional announcement must therefore be treated as a prediction. Bounou is expected to remain the reference in goal, Aguerd should lead the defence, and Ounahi, Brahim Diaz and Ezzalzouli are likely to carry much of the creative responsibility. The centre-forward position remains the biggest uncertainty.

Morocco’s official communication says the squad began preparations at the Mohammed VI Football Complex with conditioning and match-specific work. The selection itself suggests a competitive mood: established players are being asked to provide continuity, while the newcomers have been given an immediate opportunity to challenge for places. That is an editorial inference from the squad choices and training programme, not a claim of private access to the dressing room.

Gabon are also starting a new chapter. Sébastien Migné takes charge of his first competitive fixtures after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s international retirement. Denis Bouanga now carries greater attacking responsibility, with Shavy Babicka and Jim Allevinah among the other forward options. Guélor Kanga, André Poko and Ibrahim Ndong add experience in midfield. Mario Lemina was named in the original squad but was subsequently reported unavailable through injury in pre-match comments attributed to the coach.

Tactically, Morocco’s first challenge will be to reproduce width and penetration without Hakimi. Their second will be to break down a Gabon side likely to defend compactly and attack the spaces left by Morocco’s advancing full-backs. Ounahi and El Khannouss could be crucial in moving the ball between the lines, while Brahim Diaz and Ezzalzouli will be expected to create one-against-one advantages.

Recent history strongly favours Morocco: the Atlas Lions won the two meetings in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, 4-1 in Agadir and 5-1 in Franceville. Yet those scorelines do not settle Friday’s contest. Both teams have new coaches and are managing a transition. Morocco remain favourites because of their squad depth, home advantage and recent head-to-head record, but their ability to establish cohesion in a reshaped lineup will be the central test.

A victory would provide the ideal start on the road to the finals, scheduled from 19 June to 17 July 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The performance may be just as revealing as the result: it will show how Ouahbi plans to replace Hakimi, balance the midfield and give the attack a reliable focal point.

MMNEWS verdict: Morocco are favourites, but the evening’s real measure will be how quickly the new-look side turns individual quality into collective control.