.After the bitter elimination against France in the 2026 World Cup.. ten lessons for Lekjaa and Wahbi. | Dimalions
After the bitter elimination against France in the 2026 World Cup.. ten lessons for Lekjaa and Wahbi.
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Sport
After the bitter elimination against France in the 2026 World Cup.. ten lessons for Lekjaa and Wahbi.
Hesspress Sports·
The Moroccan national team did not lose to France in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup just because it faced a stronger team, but it lost because it once again collided with the limits that its football project has not yet succeeded in overcoming. This truth does not diminish the value of what has been achieved in recent years, but it imposes a different discussion from the one we are used to after every successful World Cup participation.
After the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup and then the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, Moroccan football has entered a new phase. The discussion is no longer about the team's ability to reach the advanced stages, but rather about its ability to surpass them. Therefore, the greatest service that can be provided to this project today is not more cheering and applause, nor merely talking about "leaving with heads held high," but rather more clarity, honesty, and self-criticism. A project that aspires to win does not measure itself by what it achieved yesterday, but by what it has failed to achieve today and what it must achieve tomorrow.
This new phase necessitates a calm yet strict review, placing a doubled responsibility on the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, and the national coach, Mohamed Wabi, because the Moroccan football project has reached a stage where success is no longer measured by what has been achieved, but by what has not yet been achieved.
The first of these lessons is that ambition is not complete merely by declaring it; it transforms into a commitment that requires continuous evaluation. Mohamed Wabi has stated more than once that the team is competing for the World Cup, which is a legitimate ambition that aligns with the development that Moroccan football has experienced. However, the tone changed immediately after the exit against France, with discussions shifting to the idea that "losing to a team like France is understandable."
Between the two statements lies a gap that is hard to ignore. If the goal is to compete for the title, then France is not an excuse for defeat, but rather one of the obstacles that must be overcome, because anyone who wants to lift the World Cup must defeat the teams competing for it.
Considering a fall against one of the giants of the game as something natural contradicts the statement made by Wabi just twenty-four hours before facing France, when he confirmed that the team is competing for the World Cup.
The second lesson is that the quarter-finals of 2026 do not equate to the semi-finals of 2022. Morocco has confirmed that the achievement in Qatar was not a coincidence, but it did not repeat it and is no longer the fourth in the world. Therefore, not every qualification to the advanced stages should be treated as a historic achievement, but rather as a step in a project aimed at winning the world title.
The third lesson is that a great team does not change with the absence of one or two players. Injuries are part of football, and all major teams have paid a heavy price because of them, but they did not make them the primary explanation for every failure. If the absence of certain names completely changes the identity of the team, then the problem lies not in the conditions of the tournament, but in the depth of the project, because a true project is measured by the quality of its substitutes and its ability to produce solutions in the toughest circumstances.
The fourth lesson is that major tournaments reward character before skill. The French team entered with a mentality of imposing the rhythm from the first minute, pressing, possessing, and creating chances, while the Moroccan team appeared more cautious than necessary, as if it were playing not to lose. The difference between the two teams was not only in the quality of the players but also in the boldness, because great teams do not wait for their opponents to make mistakes; they force them to make them.
The fifth lesson begins with an unavoidable question: how can a football system that has reached this level of development still fail to produce a top-class striker? Major matches do not always require ten chances, but rather a striker who can turn half a chance into a goal. While the training system has succeeded in producing high-level goalkeepers, defenders, and midfielders, the missing link in this project is the forward who can decide such confrontations.
The sixth lesson is that excessive celebration of achievements can become a burden on the project itself. The team is the one that raised the ceiling of Moroccan dreams when it spoke about competing for the World Cup. Therefore, it is no longer acceptable for merely reaching the quarter-finals to be an occasion for applause, because the true achievement is one that drives its owners to seek a greater accomplishment, not to settle for what has been achieved.
The seventh lesson is that football is built on institutions, not individuals. Mohamed Wabi previously stated that Fouzi Lekjaa "works a lot," but the truth is that work is not a virtue that deserves praise; it is the natural duty of any elected official managing an institution. Therefore, a responsible person is measured by what the institution they lead achieves, not by the number of hours they work or the amount of praise they receive. Additionally, excessive media appearances do not add value to the project.
In recent days, Moroccans have followed statements that sparked more controversy than they served the image of Moroccan football, including his claim that he does not know a Spanish player named Lamine Jamal.
This statement did not add any value to national football, as the president of an institution as significant as the federation is not required to win media debates but to lead a sports project. The higher the position of the official, the greater the need for them to speak less, achieve more, and let the results speak for themselves.
On the other hand, the praise based on an objective foundation remains for the royal vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who made sports, and football in particular, a strategic project, providing Morocco with infrastructure, training centers, and investments, and creating the environment in which everyone operates.
The eighth lesson is that criticism is not hostility. The higher the ceiling of ambition, the higher the ceiling of evaluation and accountability. It has become normal for the federation, the technical staff, and the players to be held accountable after every tournament, because professional criticism is not skepticism but one of the conditions for development. Turning every opposing opinion into targeting weakens the discussion and closes the doors to development.
The ninth lesson is that players also need to keep their feet on the ground. The last few years have granted them a significant status within their clubs and national team, opening doors to fame. However, football does not reward those who are most present on social media or have the most followers on Instagram, but rather those who are most disciplined, most committed, and most capable of making a difference when the decisive moment arrives.
The final tenth lesson is that the 2030 World Cup began the moment of elimination against France. The era of the surprise team has ended, and Morocco now enters major competitions as a contender. This status imposes a doubled responsibility on Lekjaa and Wabi, as the world has begun to study the Moroccan team as it studies the top teams, no longer viewing it as a passing guest. Those who want to maintain this position must work harder, criticize themselves more, and celebrate less.
Between a team that is admired and a team that lifts the World Cup, there is a distance that cannot be bridged by statements or words of flattery, but rather by daily work, strict accountability, and the courage to acknowledge that the hardest part of success is not reaching the summit, but the ability to stay there and then surpass it towards the podium of victory.
