Summer Olympics (1964–2004) Morocco's first appearance was in the
1964 Summer Olympics in
Tokyo. In a group that consisted of three teams following
North Korea's withdrawal. They suffered a heavy 0-6 defeat to
Hungary - Morocco's all-time heaviest defeat to date -, then lost 1-3 to
Yugoslavia and were eliminated. Their second appearance was supposed to be during the
1968 Summer Olympics in
Mexico but
Morocco refused to allow its team to play against
Israel in Group C due to political issues. They were eventually replaced by
Ghana which lost 2-3 on aggregate to Morocco in the last qualifying round. In the
1972 edition in
Munich, Morocco reached the second round as runners-up in their group with 3 points following a goalless draw against the
United States, a resounding 6-0 win against
Malaysia and a 0-3 loss to hosts
West Germany. In the second round, The Atlas Lions lost all three games against
Denmark,
Poland and the
Soviet Union. However, it was the best performance of the Atlas Lions at the Olympic football tournament until 2024. Morocco came extremely close to reaching the quarter-finals in the
2004 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing out on goals scored that favored
Costa Rica. Morocco were 2-1 ahead in their final group game against already-qualified
Iraq thanks to goals scored by
Bouabid Bouden and
Salaheddine Aqqal. However, in the other game, Costa Rica's
Pablo Brenes scored the fourth goal in added time to seal a 4-2 win over
Portugal and qualification at Morocco's expense.
First Continental Final During the inaugural
2011 CAF U-23 Championship held in Morocco. The host nation coached by
Pim Verbeek, recorded narrow 1-0 victories against both
Nigeria and
Algeria, before losing to
Senegal. In the semi-finals, Morocco successfully secured a spot in the
2012 Summer Olympics in
London by defeating Egypt 3-2 in a tense game which also saw
Abdelaziz Barrada scoring the fastest goal in the history of the tournament to date after just 30 seconds. This marked the return of the Atlas Lions to the Olympic football tournament having missed out on qualifying in
2008. However, they faced a setback when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against the surprising contender,
Gabon, in the final held at the
Marrakech Stadium.
Golden generation (2022–) On 7 July 2022, Morocco were awarded the hosting rights of the
2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, marking the return of the U-23 team to the competition for the first time in 12 years. Their campaign kicked off on a positive note with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Guinea, followed by a resounding 5-1 triumph over Ghana, emerging as group winners and securing a place in the semifinals with one game to spare. They went on to win the semi-final against Mali and qualify for the
2024 Olympic Games. They defeated Egypt 2-1 in the final to win their first ever continental title. The team was congratulated by King
Mohammed VI for their achievement. On 29 February 2024,
Tarik Sektioui was appointed head coach of the men's Olympic squad by the
Royal Moroccan Football Federation. In
Paris 2024, Morocco debuted in group B with a 2–1 victory against
Argentina, followed by a 2–1 defeat against
Ukraine and a 3–0 victory against
Iraq. Topping their group with six points ahead of Argentina on the head-to-head record, Morocco thus reached the knockout stage for the first time since 1972. They defeated the
United States 4-0 in the quarterfinals, reaching the semifinals for the first time ever. In the semifinal, Morocco lost 2–1 against
Spain. They then won 6–0 against
Egypt in the third place to win the bronze medal. == Results and fixtures ==