Achraf Hakimi’s Morocco World Cup ambitions have never felt more loaded with meaning. Fresh from clinching another UEFA Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain — returning from injury to excel in the final against Arsenal — the 26-year-old captain arrives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup leading arguably the most formidable African side ever assembled. This isn’t hyperbole. This is a genuine top-eight nation in world football, and the moment that could elevate Hakimi beyond every defender the continent has ever produced.
Morocco’s World Cup Credentials Are Unprecedented in African Football
Morocco currently sit eighth in the FIFA World Rankings, a position that, in previous tournaments, would have earned them seeding for the group stage. That tells you everything. In Qatar 2022, the Atlas Lions were romantic underdogs who captured the world’s imagination by becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. Now, however, the quarterfinals represent their floor, not their ceiling.
Furthermore, the expanded group stage delivers softer early opponents, giving Morocco every opportunity to build momentum. A deep run in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations reinforces the squad’s cohesion. Quite simply, no African team has entered a World Cup carrying credentials like these. The 2022 campaign was a stunning upset. In 2026, genuine competition at the business end is the expectation.
Achraf Hakimi’s Legacy: Where Does He Rank Among Africa’s Greatest?
The honours list alone demands respect. Hakimi has claimed silverware in Spain, Germany, Italy and France, played a central role in Internazionale’s 2020-21 Serie A title, finished sixth in the 2025 Ballon d’Or — a record for a Moroccan player — and claimed African Footballer of the Year. His UCL triumph with PSG also equalled Samuel Eto’o’s record of three Champions League victories, the most by any African player, though it is worth noting Hakimi featured in only two group-stage games during Real Madrid’s 2018 triumph.
Against Arsenal in the final, returning from the injury he sustained in the first leg of the semifinal against Bayern Munich on 28 April, Hakimi largely neutralised Bukayo Saka before the England winger was withdrawn, produced an energetic attacking display, tested David Raya with a second-half free-kick, and stepped up to convert his penalty in the shootout. Big moments, big performances. That is his pattern.
Positional bias will always tempt comparisons to favour attackers, and Mohamed Salah’s numbers at Liverpool remain superior in isolation. Yet while Salah has fallen short in two AFCON finals and made no impact at the 2018 World Cup, Hakimi scored the decisive penalty against Spain in Qatar and drove Morocco to history. Legacy isn’t only about statistics — it’s about showing up when it matters most.
Greats like Rigobert Song, Lucas Radebe and Nourredine Naybet all made their marks, but none carried the combination of club glory, individual accolades and transformative international impact that Hakimi now possesses. If Morocco reach the last four — or beyond — in 2026, the debate about Africa’s greatest ever player enters genuinely uncharted territory. History remembers pioneers. Hakimi is building a case that is increasingly impossible to ignore.