Barça and Abde lead Morocco's little lions

Morocco are enjoying a sweet moment in world football. A few months ago they were crowned the fourth best team at the Qatar 2022 World Cup and now they are looking for the little Atlas lions to follow in the footsteps of their elders.

The U-23 side are currently competing in the Africa Cup of Nations, which is being held in Tangiers and Rabat until 8 July. It is a special challenge for Issame Charai's charges because the top three finishers will have a place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.  

Morocco share Group A with Guinea, Ghana and Congo. In Group B, they will meet Niger, Egypt, Mali and Gabon. In this tournament, Egypt's youngsters are also one of the favourites to win the tournament.  

So far, the Atlas Lions have won two matches, scored seven goals and conceded two.  

Morocco's U-23 national team has few familiar faces, but the most notable is that of Ez Abde, the Barcelona player on loan at Osasuna, who has qualified for the Conference League that UEFA has denied the Spanish team. The left winger has two goals in the tournament and is the leader of this team that is aiming for the best in a tournament held on home soil.

Another of the most promising players is Chadi Riad, also a Barcelona youth player and born in Palma de Mallorca. Although he has been called up on occasion by Xavi Hernández, his most important job was to try to take Barça Athletic to the Second Division, although the dream ended against Real Madrid Castilla despite the goal he scored in the first game.

Perhaps Chadi's most important moment was that 8 November 2022 when he had just a few minutes with Barça's first team in the victory against, precisely, Osasuna, the team of his friend Abde.  

In this list of Morocco's promising young players, there are other players who play in the top competition in the countries where they play, such as Amraoui, a left-back for Nice.

At Genk, 19-year-old midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, with a market value of 13 million euros, is Morocco's treasure alongside Ez Abde.  

Ismael Saibari is another of the scorers of this CAN U-23. Born in Tarrasa, he has already made 33 appearances for PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivise, Champions League and Europa League.  

Ibrahim Salah, 21, is a left winger from Stade Rennais who has made 37 appearances in the French league, Europa League and Conference League with 7 goals. He is another pearl that many European teams will be eyeing over the next few years.  

Morocco's crop of lions is as good as the senior national team and that guarantees many years of good football and the possibility of lifting international titles.