As widely anticipated, Mohamed Ouahbi has replaced Walid Regragui as Morocco’s new national team coach officially ending speculations of the latter leaving his position as head coach of the Atlas Lions.
Despite denying on many occasions that Regragui was not going to leave his role, Royal Morocco Football Federation (FRMF) confirmed the arrival of Ouahbi on Thursday. Regragui’s departure follows the team’s failure to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on home soil.
The Atlas Lions reached the final of the 2025 edition but lost 1-0 to Senegal in the final which was marred by controversies in Rabat on January 18. The final was stopped for over 15 minutes, after Morocco were awarded a penalty with only seconds left to the final whistle.
Despite the defeat, Regragui, who took charge of the Atlas Lions in 2022, just three months before the World Cup in Qatar, put on a brave face declaring he will be in charge during the World Cup to be jointly hosted by 16 cities - 11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.
Morocco FA made it clear during a press conference former Anderlecht youth team coach Ouahbi will lead the Atlas Lions at the World Cup this summer with former Jose Mourinho assistant coach Joao Sacramento and Youssouf Hadji joining as assistants.
A brief history of Mohamed Ouahbi
Ouahbi began his coaching career at the age of 21. Starting in 1997, he joined Maccabi Brussels, a Brussels-based club affiliated with the Union of Progressive Jews of Belgium, where he coached youth teams.
He spent six seasons there, designing age-appropriate training sessions and gaining early structured experience in player observation, planning, and evaluation.
In 2003, Ouahbi joined R.S.C. Anderlecht, beginning with the U-9 team, which included players such as Charly Musonda Jr. and Adnan Januzaj. He gradually advanced through the youth ranks, coaching teams from U10 to U21. In 2022, he took charge of the Morocco national U-20 team, assisted by Jamel Ait Ben Idir, succeeding Zakaria Aboub.
Ouahbi led the team through several tournaments, including the 2022 Arab Cup U-20, the UNAF U-20 Tournament editions of 2022, 2023, and 2024 - the latter of which Morocco won, qualifying for the 2025 U-20 AFCON.
At the 2025 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Egypt, Morocco topped their group, defeated the hosts in the semi-final, and finished runners-up after losing 1-0 to South Africa in the final.
Later that year, he led Morocco at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile. Morocco defeated the United States in the quarter-finals (3-1), overcame France on penalties in the semi-finals, and won the final 2-0 against Argentina, earning Morocco their first-ever U20 World Cup title.
In October 2025, Ouahbi was nominated for the CAF Coach of the Year Award. He will now lead Morocco to the World Cup where they have been pooled in Group C alongside Brazil, Haiti, and Scotland.
Morocco’s first game will be against Brazil at MetLife Stadium on June 14, before they face Scotland in matchday two at Gillette Stadium on June 20. The Atlas Lions will wind up their group fixtures against Haiti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on June 25.
Lwandamina replaces Moses Sichone
Meanwhile, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has made changes to the Chipolopolo technical bench appointing veteran trainer George Lwandamina as new coach replacing Moses Sichone.
FAZ acting Deputy General Secretary Iva Lengwe confirmed in a statement seen by Flashscore that the changes are aimed at enhancing efficiency and strengthening the team’s performance.
Lengwe says Lwandamina will take over in an interim capacity and will be assisted by Power Dynamos coach Oswald Mutapa jr. The appointment of Lwandamina to the Chipolopolo top job comes after FAZ opted to excuse Sichone in the aftermath of the Morocco 2025 AFCON.
Lwandamina previously served as Chipolopolo coach from 2015 to 2016 before paving the way for Wedson Nyirenda. He is currently serving as Nchanga Rangers coach.
FAZ further excused Perry Mutapa from his assistant role at the Chipolopolo after having been part of the AFCON technical bench.
“Only the positions of head coach and first assistant have been affected by these changes. The rest of the technical bench remains unchanged and will continue carrying out their respective responsibilities,” said Lengwe.
He further added the adjustments will take effect immediately. Lwandamina’s immediate assignment will be to lead the national team to the Four-Nation Tournament scheduled to take place in Francistown, Botswana, from March 23 to 31, 2026.
