The Moroccan national team hosts Gabon at the start of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

The “Atlas Lions” are looking forward to exploiting the crowd and ground factors, as the match is being held at the “Prince Moulay Abdullah Stadium in Rabat”, to achieve a strong start and score the three points, at the beginning of a new phase under the leadership of coach Mohamed Wehbe, who is working to reshape the national team’s roster and give the opportunity to a number of young players.

Morocco's roster included 29 players, including three making their debut with the national team, namely Abdullah Wazzan, Sufyan Al-Fawzi and Yasser Al-Zubairi, in addition to a number of mainstays, most notably Yassine Bounou, Nayef Akrad, Nassir Mazraoui and Brahim Diaz.

Achraf Hakimi, captain of the Moroccan national team, will miss the first two matches in the qualifiers due to suspension, while the team is also missing a number of strikers due to injury, led by Youssef En-Nesyri and Ayoub El-Kaabi.

On the other hand, the Gabon national team is competing in the qualifiers under the leadership of its coach, Sebastien Migne, who begins a new phase with the team after former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang retired from international football.

Migne is relying on a group of experienced people, led by Denis Bouanga, Mario Lemina, and Guillor Kanda, in search of a positive result against the Moroccan national team.

Previous confrontations between the two teams indicate Moroccan superiority, as the two sides met in 20 matches, during which Morocco achieved 10 victories compared to 6 victories for Gabon, while two matches ended in draws, according to what was reported by the Moroccan newspaper Al-Mukhtab.

Morocco's last victory over Gabon dates back to November 15, 2024, when the "Atlas Lions" achieved a major victory with a score of 5-1 in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

On the other hand, Gabon's last victory dates back to October 15, 2019, when it defeated Morocco in a friendly match held at Ibn Battuta Stadium.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals will be held jointly between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, during the period from June 19 to July 17, 2027, while the continent’s teams compete during the current qualifiers to reserve their places in the tournament.