Lekjaa says Morocco’s World Cup campaign carries “no fear” after Brazil draw

Royal Moroccan Football Federation President Fouzi Lekjaa said Morocco’s World Cup campaign carries “no fear,” days after the Atlas Lions opened Group C with a 1-1 draw against Brazil.

Speaking during a parliamentary committee meeting on Monday, Lekjaa said the national team would continue to fight through its matches with the same objective shared by players, staff and supporters: giving joy to Moroccans.

He said King Mohammed VI was following the national team’s situation closely and that Morocco’s players understood the responsibility attached to their World Cup participation.

“The national team’s participation in the 2026 World Cup is not marked by any fear,” Lekjaa said, according to local reporting. He added that the Atlas Lions would play “until the last breath” to make Moroccans happy.

Lekjaa’s remarks came as MPs congratulated him during discussions on draft law 41.26, which amends the law governing Morocco’s direct social-support system. Several parliamentary group leaders used their interventions to praise the team’s performance against Brazil, citing the players’ discipline, readiness and morale.

Morocco took the lead against Brazil through Ismael Saibari before Vinicius Junior equalized for the five-time world champions. The draw gave Morocco a point from one of the strongest matches of the opening round and reinforced expectations built after the team’s run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.

Lekjaa said Morocco’s approach to Brazil showed that the national football project had moved beyond judging matches by the opponent’s name or record.

He said assessing a match only through the history of the rival was now outside Morocco’s football logic, arguing that the same standards should apply against every team: readiness, discipline and the ability to produce the best possible performance.

Morocco entered the 2026 tournament with higher expectations after becoming the first Arab and African team to reach a World Cup semi-final in Qatar. The result against Brazil added to that pressure, but also strengthened the view that the Atlas Lions remain capable of competing with the world’s leading teams.

Lekjaa said Morocco would stay “on time” for the challenge, building on the gains made over recent years and on the place the national team has secured among football’s major sides.