Morocco’s Atlas Lion Cubs made history by defeating Argentina 2-0 in the U20 World Cup final in Chile on October 20, 2025. A first historic star for Moroccan football, powered by a Yassir Zabiri brace and an ironclad defense.
October 20, 2025, will be etched in Moroccan sports history. The national under-20 football team won the World Cup against Argentina, the six-time champions. The Moroccan U20s delivered a final full of control and intensity. From the first fifteen minutes, Yassir Zabiri opened the scoring: a brilliant free kick in the 11th minute. Then with a precise shot on a counter-attack, he doubled the lead in the 28th minute. Enough to overwhelm a struggling Albiceleste. Despite Argentina’s significant ball possession, Morocco imposed its rhythm and locked down the match.
“Praise God, this is the fruit of our labor. It’s an achievement. Now we just have to enjoy it because these are emotions we will probably only experience once in our lives, or more if we now move up to the senior national team.”
The second half turned into a defensive masterclass. Focused and united, the Lion Cubs contained all opposition attempts. The Moroccan goalkeeper made numerous saves, while the Argentinians grew frustrated and accumulated warnings. Behind the scenes, the Moroccan coach perfectly orchestrated his substitutions to preserve the lead. Morocco thus secured its first-ever world title in any category, breaking the historic dominance of Europe and South America in this competition.
“We say ‘Praise God’ first because it is God who gave this. We are really happy. It’s incredible! Three years of work, we worked hard, we went through moments you can’t even imagine. It was tough. We are world champions, there are too many emotions. We thank the staff, they did a tremendous job, and the supporters.”
This triumph crowns an astonishing journey: after finishing top of their group, the Moroccans successively eliminated South Korea, the United States, and then France. In the semi-final, they came from behind to beat Brazil, before toppling the Argentine giants in the final. Playmaker Othmane Maamma won the tournament’s Golden Ball, Zabiri the Silver Ball, and Argentina’s Delgado completed the podium. In Santiago, the Atlas Lion Cubs made an entire continent roar. They become the second African team to win the U20 World Cup after Ghana’s Black Satellites in 2009.