Morocco’s World Cup campaign has suffered a grievous double blow barely hours before they face Brazil in Los Angeles, with the confirmation that defensive linchpin Nayef Aguerd and gifted winger Abde Ezzalzouli will play no part in the tournament. The official squad list lodged with FIFA was updated overnight, removing the two key figures from the Atlas Lions’ 26-man roster and replacing them with centre-back Marwane Saadane, who plies his trade in Saudi Arabia, and Angers forward Amine Sbai. For a side that captured the imagination of the Arab world by reaching the semi-finals four years ago and was expected again to trouble the global elite, the timing of the news could scarcely be worse.

The injury sagas had been rumbling for weeks but hopes persisted in Rabat that both players might recover in time. Aguerd, 30, has not featured for his club Olympique de Marseille since early March, when what was initially diagnosed as a groin problem was subsequently revealed to be a fracture of the pubic bone requiring surgery. Despite appearing in light training during Morocco’s pre-tournament camp, the defender failed to prove his fitness to the medical staff. Ezzalzouli, the Barcelona-born winger whose dribbling adds a crucial dimension to the attack, suffered a knee injury in a warm-up friendly against Norway and was unable to shake off the damage. Their absence strips the side of two pillars around whom the coach, Mohamed Wahbi, had built his game plan.

Seen from the Gulf and the wider Arab football community, the withdrawals are a cruel setback for a team that carries the region’s highest expectations. Moroccan media had been cautiously optimistic that the FIFA list update might be a precautionary formality, but the swift confirmation has punctured that mood. Rival camps, however, will view the developments with guarded relief. Brazilian analysts note that Morocco’s defensive organisation, anchored by Aguerd’s reading of the game, was viewed as the principal obstacle to their star-studded forward line; his absence shifts the tactical balance decisively in favour of the five-time champions on matchday one.

For coach Wahbi, the challenge now is to reorganise a backline that loses its most experienced international and to find alternative creative outlets in the final third. Saadane, 27, is a solid but unspectacular option, while Sbai offers pace but little top-level pedigree. The replacements underscore the thinner depth available to a nation that had nonetheless believed it could replicate the heroics of Qatar 2022. With the expanded 48-team format offering a longer group stage, Morocco still have room to recover, but a positive result against Brazil—already a daunting prospect—now appears an even taller order. The Atlas Lions must hope that the upheaval galvanises rather than derails a campaign that only yesterday brimmed with promise.