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Atlas Lions' victory over Madagascar offers key insights for 2026 World Cup preparations
via Le Matin3 min read
The Atlas Lions secured a decisive victory against Madagascar in their final home match before departing for the United States for the 2026 World Cup. National coach Mohamed Ouahbi utilized the game to assess new talent and tactical adaptability, introducing players like Ayoub Bouaddi, El Morabite, and Ayoube Amaimouni, who demonstrated technical maturity. Ali Maamar, though not on the official World Cup roster, was given significant playing time, indicating Ouahbi's forward-looking strategy and his potential as an alternative if Nayef Aguerd is unavailable. Maamar's performance in recovery and distribution was noted as promising. Tactically, Ouahbi implemented a flexible system, primarily a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, which disrupted Madagascar's defense. The team maintained fluid, vertical possession and employed an aggressive high press, preventing Madagascar from building offensive transitions. The offensive play was dynamic, with constant player rotations leading to numerical advantages and four high-quality goals. This tactical display confirmed the players' grasp of Ouahbi's principles, including high-intensity ball circulation and defensive balance. The victory provides a significant psychological boost, reinforcing team confidence and cohesion ahead of the World Cup. The Moroccan delegation is now heading to the United States with high morale. Their American schedule includes acclimatization and a final friendly match against Norway. This European opponent, known for its physi
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Ismael Saibari, named the best player in the Eredivisie this season, has reportedly reached a verbal agreement with Bayern Munich. The Moroccan international is expected to join the Bundesliga club, following direct discussions with Vincent Kompany, Bayern's new coach. This development indicates Bayern's intent to strengthen their attack after Anthony Gordon's move to FC Barcelona. Max Eberl, leading Bayern's management, quickly pursued alternative targets, identifying Saibari as an ideal candidate due to his exceptional season in the Netherlands, where he scored 18 goals and provided 9 assists. Fabrizio Romano confirmed the agreement on personal terms, noting Saibari's desire to move to Bavaria and his conversation with Kompany, who values the player's versatility, impact, creativity, and finishing ability. For Saibari, this represents a significant career opportunity to join a top European club. While personal terms are settled, an agreement with PSV Eindhoven is still pending. Bayern has submitted an initial written offer of 48 million euros, including bonuses, which PSV considers insufficient. The Dutch club is seeking closer to 60 million euros, a sum that would exceed their record sale. The player's agent, Ali Dursun, is reportedly in Eindhoven to help bridge the financial gap. Bayern aims to finalize the transfer swiftly, ideally before the World Cup, to prevent other clubs from entering negotiations.
Moroccan supporters, often frustrated by the Atlas Lions' performances against low and medium defensive blocks under Walid Regragui, observed changes under Mohamed Ouahbi. Despite a talented squad, the team struggled to break through well-organized defenses in recent matches, including friendlies, CAN 2025 qualifiers against teams like Mozambique, Niger, Benin, and Mauritania, and during the Africa Cup against Tanzania and Comoros. On Tuesday, fans were keen to see Ouahbi's solutions. The coach delivered, showcasing offensive diversification that led to four goals: one from a set piece, one from a recovery in the opponent's box, a penalty after a build-up, and a goal from a quick counter-attack. The Lions are now more unpredictable and vertical, though they still need to improve their finishing. In the first half alone, the team had more than three one-on-one opportunities with the opposing goalkeeper, but impulsiveness prevented a higher score at halftime. While Morocco faced the 104th-ranked team in FIFA, the new technical staff efficiently utilized available resources. The public saw more player permutations, increased versatility, and more effective ball recovery thanks to new player profiles. The midfield, bolstered by talented young players with impressive physical capabilities and high-level competition experience, has gained robustness and vision. Ayoub Bouaddi demonstrated his potential for significant responsibility in the first half, and Samir El Mourabet, a highly
Tamwilcom has launched its "Jossour 2030" strategy, aiming to strengthen its role in connecting economic financing needs with available solutions. The strategy, presented by Tamwilcom's Director General Saïd Jabrani, builds on the institution's growth over the past 15 years, during which the number of guaranteed credits increased from 949 to 61,800 operations by 2025, and the volume of guaranteed credits rose from 1.2 billion to 25 billion dirhams. Net banking income grew from 77 million to 892 million dirhams, with net profit reaching 445 million dirhams in 2025. The strategy, named "Jossour" Arabic for "bridges", emphasizes the economic impact of guarantees, with an evaluation study showing that every 1 dirham of state endowment for credit guarantees generates 2.5 dirhams of added value over a five-year cycle. Tamwilcom aims to act as a bridge between entrepreneurs and financing, project holders and support structures, startups and investment funds, and territories and development. "Jossour 2030" is built on three main pillars: strengthening the historical guarantee business by expanding intervention to strategic areas like exports, subcontracting ecosystems, and value chains; territorializing guarantee and co-financing mechanisms to adapt solutions to regional economic specificities; and leveraging Tamwilcom's financial expertise to support public policies. The strategy also prioritizes data utilization to measure the economic and social impact of its interventions. By 203
The Moroccan Interprofessional Retirement Fund CIMR closed the 2025 financial year with technical provisions reaching 102.47 billion dirhams, a 10% increase from 92.97 billion dirhams in 2024. These provisions include the contingency reserve and the mathematical provision for capitalization and accrued but unpaid benefits. The operating surplus, excluding the mathematical provision for capitalization, rose by 11% to 9.5 billion dirhams, up from 8.55 billion dirhams the previous year. In 2025, CIMR welcomed 13,655 new members, comprising 13,106 individual members and 549 corporate members covering 7,868 affiliates. The total number of affiliates grew by 5.1% to 822,806 people, with 474,524 active contributors and 348,282 beneficiaries. Active contributors increased by 6% compared to 2024. During 2025, 212,053 individuals received benefits from CIMR. Net investment income reached 4.48 billion dirhams by the end of 2025, a 9% increase from 4.13 billion dirhams a year prior. CIMR's portfolio was valued at 125.555 billion dirhams at market value as of December 31, 2025. Actuarial balance sheet results confirm the scheme's sustainability, with the contingency fund projected to remain positive and show an upward trend throughout the projection period, meeting the two criteria of the steering charter. Beyond financial performance, CIMR is undertaking transformation and modernization projects, including implementing a data governance policy to enhance data quality, reliability, securi