Ayyoub Bouaddi leads Morocco's Chadi Riad group to World Cup 2026
chadi riad sits inside a Morocco squad that arrives at the 2026 World Cup with several young names now under a brighter lens. Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, enters the tournament valued at 50 million euros, while Samir El Mourabet and Gessime Yassine also move into a wider global spotlight.
Morocco's list for the World Cup 2026 was one of the most awaited, and the selections showed a clear balance between established starters and younger players pushing into view. Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Abde Ezzalzouli, Bono, Aguerd and Brahim were among the untouchable names in the group.
Morocco's World Cup core
That core left several well-known names outside the list. Youssef En-Nesyri, Hakim Ziyeck, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Ilias Akhomach and Soufian Boufal were left out, making the final group look like a shift in emphasis rather than a routine call-up.
For Morocco, the immediate consequence is that the team goes to the tournament in United States, Canada and Mexico with a younger layer that is expected to attract attention beyond the matches themselves. Walid Regragui is not on the bench, but the squad still carries the imprint of the side that made a historic run in Qatar 2022.
Samir El Mourabet's rise
Samir El Mourabet, a 20-year-old Morocco midfielder, has moved into the squad after a standout season with Strasbourg. He has played only two matches for Morocco's senior team, yet his first elite campaign ended with 48 games, 2 goals and 3 assists, and his market value jumped from 50,000 euros at the start of the season to 18 million euros, according to Transfermarkt.
That rise gives Morocco a midfielder who arrived at the World Cup cycle from a different track than the established names around him. El Mourabet's case also shows how quickly the squad's public profile can change when a player converts one strong club season into a place on a World Cup list.
Ayyoub Bouaddi and Gessime Yassine
Ayyoub Bouaddi, who is 18 and plays for Lille, comes in after a season of 42 matches and one assist. He was also eligible for France, came through France's youth levels, did not receive a call from Deschamps, and will play his first World Cup with Morocco at a market value of 50 million euros.
Gessime Yassine adds another fast-moving rise to the picture. In 2024, he left Marignane's under-19 side and has since become one of the most striking ascents to Europe's elite level, turning Morocco's 2026 squad into a showcase for players who have reached this stage by very different routes.
The practical next step for Morocco is immediate visibility. The squad enters a tournament staged across United States, Canada and Mexico with established names carrying the team and younger players like Bouaddi, El Mourabet and Yassine arriving with sharply different levels of senior experience but a shared chance to shape how the World Cup will remember Morocco's next cycle.
