Ahead of Morocco vs Canada at the World Cup, comparisons arise with the 2022 team

Morocco’s historic run at the Qatar World Cup 2022 is remembered by some poignant, powerful and indelible images from their quarterfinal win over Portugal: a towering header – the match-winning goal by Youssef En-Nesyri – against Cristiano Ronaldo’s side, Hakim Ziyech’s mazy dribbles that put the 2016 European champions in a spin, and Soufiane Boufal’s dance with his mother on the pitch in the heartwarming post-match celebrations.

Four years on, none of those players have made the trip to the World Cup in North America.

In fact, the only holdovers from that memorable tournament are Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El-Khanouss and the goalkeepers.

The then-celebrated manager, Walid Regragui, has been cast aside, too.

Despite the radical changes, Morocco are yet to lose a match and have advanced to the Round of 16 after dispatching the Netherlands in a nervy penalty shootout on Monday.

Comparisons between the classes of 2022 and 2026 were inevitable. They began at the end of the group stage, when it was pointed out that the Moroccan team of four years ago topped their group while this one failed to beat Haiti and Scotland by big enough margins to leapfrog Brazil in Group C.

In order to truly impress the critics, the current generation may need to match or improve the semifinal run of 2022.

In 2022, the tactical plan was simple yet effective.

Head coach Regragui was an emergency appointment following Bosnian manager Vahid Halilhodzic falling out with several players.

-Al Jazeera