Morocco Set Three World Cup Warm-Ups: Burundi, Madagascar and Norway in New York
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has announced three pre-tournament friendlies for the Atlas Lions: Burundi behind closed doors on May 26, Madagascar on June 2 in Rabat, and Norway on June 7 at Red Bull Arena in the New York metropolitan area. Mohamed Ouahbi gets one final look at his group before the final 26-man cut.
T he Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has confirmed the three friendly fixtures that will close out Morocco's preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Atlas Lions will play one match at home behind closed doors, one open fixture in Rabat, and one final test on United States soil before the squad locks in.
Burundi behind closed doors at the training base
The opening warm-up is against Burundi on May 26 at the Mohammed VI Football Complex outside Salé, the federation's training base. The match will be played behind closed doors with no spectators in attendance, a setup that lets head coach Mohamed Ouahbi rotate widely across his 55-man preliminary pool and trial combinations without putting the result on the public record.
The second fixture moves to the Moulay Abdallah Stadium in Rabat on June 2, where Morocco will host Madagascar in front of supporters. The date sits one day after FIFA's deadline to submit the final 26-man World Cup squad, so the team that takes the field against the Barea will give the clearest indication yet of how Ouahbi intends to shape his attack and midfield for the tournament.
Norway test at Red Bull Arena
The third and final friendly is against Norway on Sunday, June 7 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area, with kick-off scheduled for around 3 p.m. local time. Norway, back at a senior major tournament after qualifying for the World Cup, gives Morocco a European reference point on North American soil days before the group stage opens. The venue itself doubles as acclimatisation: it sits inside the same Northeast corridor where several World Cup fixtures will be played.
Ouahbi builds on the Qatar semi-final run
Mohamed Ouahbi took over the senior side after guiding Morocco to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup title in Chile, the country's first triumph at that level. His brief with the senior team is now to translate that work into the expanded 48-team World Cup, where Morocco will be looking to build on the run to the semi-finals at Qatar 2022, the deepest run by any African nation in World Cup history. The May 26, June 2 and June 7 friendlies are the last competitive looks Ouahbi gets at his group before kickoff.