A number of factors contributed to Morocco's fairytale run at the Qatar World Cup, and chief among them was the standout performance of five of their star footballers in Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech, Romain Saiss, Sofyan Amrabat and Yassine Bounou. Here are the profiles of the Atlas Lions' quintessential quintet:
ACHRAF HAKIMI
Full name: Achraf Hakimi Mouh
Date of birth: November 4, 1998 (age 24)
Place of birth: Madrid, Spain
Height: 1.81m (5ft 11in)
Position: Right-back
Club information
Current team: Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Jersey number: 2
Youth career
2005–06: Colonia Ofigevi (Getafe)
2006–16: Real Madrid (Spain)
Senior career
2016–17: Real Madrid Castilla, 28 appearances, one goal
2017–20: Real Madrid, nine appearances, two goals
2018–20: Borussia Dortmund (Germany), 54 appearances, seven goals
2020–21: Inter Milan (Italy), 37 appearances, seven goals
2021–Current: PSG, 46 appearances, seven goals
* Hakimi has played 59 games for Morocco so far, and scored nine goals
* He mainly plays as a right-back. Known for his speed, runs and goal scoring ability, he is regarded as one of the best right-backs in world football.
* Hakimi was born to Moroccan parents Hasan Hakimi and Saida Mouh. His football career began at the age of seven where he joined Colonia. From Colonia, he joined the Real youth team at the age of eight in 2006.
* Hakimi made his debut for Real in the first match of the 2016 International Champions Cup, a 3–1 loss against PSG. He subsequently returned to the B team, making his senior debut on August 20, 2016 by starting in a 3–2 Segunda División B home win against Real Sociedad B.
* Hakimi made his first team – and La Liga – debut on October 1, starting in a 2–0 home win over Espanyol. He scored his first La Liga goal on December 9, 2017 in a 5–0 win against Sevilla.
* On July 11, 2018, Hakimi signed for Bundesliga club Dortmund on a two-year loan deal.
* In February 2020, Hakimi set a Bundesliga speed record when he was clocked at 36.48 km/h (22.67 mph) in a match against Union Berlin, beating the old league record which he had set against RB Leipzig three months prior at 36.2 km/h (22.5 mph).
* On July 2, 2020, Hakimi signed for Serie A club Inter on a five-year contract, with a reported fee of around €40m.
* Hakimi signed for Ligue 1 club PSG on July 6, 2021 on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid by PSG was reported by The Guardian to be an initial €60m, potentially rising by €11m in add-ons.
* Hakimi's celebrations with his mother after beating Belgium, Spain and Portugal have been applauded all over the world. Hakimi said in the past, via Bundesliga: “My mother cleaned the houses and my father was a street vendor. We come from a modest family that struggled to earn a living. Today I fight every day for them. They sacrificed themselves for me.”
* Hakimi is married to Spanish actress Hiba Abouk; she is of Libyan and Tunisian descent. The couple have two sons, born in 2020 and 2022.
Also Read: Can Atlas Lions continue fairytale?
HAKIM ZIYECH
Full name: Hakim Ziyech
Date of birth: March 19, 1993 (age 29)
Place of birth: Dronten, Netherlands
Height: 1.81m (5ft 11in)
Position(s): Attacking midfielder, winger
Club information
Current team: Chelsea (England)
Jersey number: 22
Youth career
2001-04: Reaal Dronten (Netherlands)
2004-07: ASV Dronten (Netherlands)
2007-12: Heerenveen (Netherlands)
Senior career
2012-14: Heerenveen, 36 appearances, 11 goals
2014-16: Twente Enschede (Netherlands), 68 appearances, 30 goals
2016-20: Ajax (Netherlands), 112 appearances, 38 goals
2020-Current: Chelsea, 51 appearances, six goals
* “The Wizard”, who featured for the Dutch U-20 and U-21 teams, turned out 48 times for Morocco, scoring 19 goals.
* Ziyech is a right winger who likes to take up a wide starting position and then drive infield with the ball, on to his stronger foot and into positions where he poses a threat on goal, either with shots, through balls or crosses.
* Ziyech speaks Dutch and English. He is not fluent in Darija; for this reason he addresses Moroccan fans and journalists in English.
* At eight years old, Ziyech joined the youth academy of Reaal Dronten, the place of his birth, where he flourished from 2001-07 before signing for the Heerenveen academy.
* He developed his skills there for five years before making Eredivisie debut at 19 for the Heerenveen senior side in 2012.
* After an impressive stint, he joined Twente Enschede for 3.5m euros in 2014 where he further enhanced his reputation for two years, prior to his dream move to giant Ajax in 2016. Ziyech signed five-year deal with the Amsterdam powerhouse with a reported transfer fee of 11m euros.
* In 2019, he was selected as one of the 20 best players in the Uefa Champions League for the 2018–19 season.
* At the end of the same year, he was ranked 29th in The Guardian's list of "The 100 best footballers in the world".
* Having shone brightly in Amsterdam for four years, Ziyech earned a 40m-euro move to Chelsea where he has so far played 51 games, and scored six goals, in a contract spanning five years.
Also Read: Six reasons why Morocco's triumph is no fluke
ROMAIN SAISS
Full name: Romain Ghanem Paul Saiss
Date of birth: March 26, 1990 (age 32)
Place of birth: Bourg-de-Peage, France
Height: 1.88m (6ft 2in)
Position: Center-back
Club information
Current team: Besiktas (Turkey)
Jersey number: 26
Senior career
2010–11: Valence (France), 13 appearances, four goals
2011–13: Clermont (France), 48 appearances, one goal
2012: Clermont II, one appearance
2013–15: Le Havre (France), 61 appearances, three goals
2015–16: Angers (France), 35 appearances, two goals
2016–22: Wolverhampton Wanderers (England), 176 appearances, 13 goals
2022–Currently: Besiktas, 11 appearances
* The inspirational Moroccan captain has featured 71 times for the Atlas Lions, scoring two goals, including the opener against Belgium in the group stage.
* He began his career with Valence, then played for Le Havre and Clermont of Ligue 2, and Angers of Ligue 1 before joining Wolves in 2016. He was a solid presence at the back for the Midlands outfit, before moving to Besiktas in 2021.
* A full international since 2012, Saiss has captained Morocco since 2019.
* He represented the nation at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and two Fifa World Cups.
* His father is Moroccan and his mother is French, both restaurant owners.
* He is a Muslim and observes fasting in the month of Ramadan.
* On December 15, 2021, he was described as the “Moroccan Maldini” by the then head coach Bruno Lage.
Also Read: Top moments from Round of 16
SOFYAN AMRABAT
Full name: Sofyan Amrabat
Date of birth: August 21, 1996 (age 26)
Place of birth: Huizen, Netherlands
Height: 1.83m (6ft 0in)
Position: Midfielder
Club information
Current team: Fiorentina (Italy)
Jersey number: 34
Youth career
2007: HSV De Zuidvogels (Netherlands)
2007–14: Utrecht (Netherlands)
Senior career
2014–17: Utrecht, 49 appearances, one goal
2017–18: Feyenoord (Netherlands), 21 appearances, two goals
2018–20: Club Brugge (Belgium), 25 appearances, one goal
2019–20: Hellas Verona (Italy), 34 appearances, one goal
2020–Current: Fiorentina, 67 appearances, one goal
* Midfield engine Amrabat is the younger brother of Nordin Amrabat, also a Moroccan international.
* Sofyan made brief appearances for the Dutch U-15 side before playing for the U-17 and U-23 sides of Morocco.
* He has yet to score for the Atlas Lions in 44 games.
* Starting his senior career at Utrecht in 2014, Amrabat moved to Feyenoord in 2017. After one season, he joined Club Brugge, before being sent on loan to Italy at Hellas Verona in 2019.
* On January 31, 2020, Verona exercised their option to purchase his rights from Brugge and immediately re-sold them to Fiorentina. In return, Fiorentina loaned him back to Verona until the end of the 2019–20 season.
* On December 6, 2022, he had a strong performance against Spain, keeping control of the ball in dangerous positions and performing crucial tackles to knock them out of the World Cup, which led to an increase of interest for his services across Europe.
Also Read: Changing of guard, all over for tiki-taka?
YASSINE “BONO” BOUNOU
Full name: Yassine Bounou
Date of birth: April 5, 1991 (age 31)
Place of birth: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height: 1.92m (6ft 4in)
Position: Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team: Sevilla
Jersey number: 13
Youth career
1999–10: Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
Senior career
2010–12: Wydad, 11 appearances
2012–14: Atletico Madrid B (Spain), 47 appearances
2014–16: Atlético Madrid
2014–16: Real Zaragoza (Spain), 35 appearances
2016–20: Girona (Spain), 83 appearances
2019–20: Sevilla (Spain), six appearances
2020–Current: Sevilla, 76 appearances, one goal
* Bono has played 50 times for the Moroccan senior side after turning out for their U-20 and U-23 side.
* He has spent most of his career in Spain, making over 100 La Liga appearances for Girona and Sevilla, and 56 in Segunda División for Zaragoza and Girona.
* Bono won the Uefa Europa League with Sevilla in 2020.
* A full international for Morocco since 2013, Bono has represented his nation at two Fifa World Cups, three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2012 Olympics.
* Bono's father is originally from the region of Taounate. At three years old, he moved to Casablanca, where he joined Wydad as a child in 1999.
* He likes to play using his feet, but due to his height it was later suggested he become a goalkeeper; a challenge he accepted. His goalkeeping idols are Gianluigi Buffon and Edwin van der Sar.
* In an interview, Bono said, being a Canadian citizen, he had been contacted by the then manager of the Canadian team Benito Floro, to discuss the possibility of him playing for Canada, but that this ultimately did not materialize.
* He once made headlines for his defence of Arabic language and refusal to speak to the press in French or English; a jab at the Confederation of African Football for not having hired a single Arabic translator.
