Preview: Morocco vs Gabon - prediction, team news, lineups

After a solid World Cup campaign, Morocco kick off their bid for another Africa Cup of Nations appearance when they welcome Gabon to the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Friday evening.

Both nations find themselves in a familiar qualifying bracket, with Lesotho also having featured alongside them in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, while Niger completes Group A in the 2027 campaign.

Match preview

Although Morocco fell short of their historic semi-final feat from the 2022 World Cup, Mohamed Ouahbi can be satisfied with how his side competed at this year's global tournament in North America, particularly given the short period he had to put his stamp on the team.

The 49-year-old took over the reins in March following Walid Regragui's departure after the Atlas Lions’s drama-filled AFCON 2025 final against Senegal, having previously guided the country's Under-20s to the World Cup title in Chile.

Following CAF's decision to record January's continental final as a 3-0 forfeit victory in Morocco's favour, the North African nation still had plenty to prove on the pitch and did so by holding Brazil to a draw in their World Cup opener before edging Scotland and then overcoming Haiti to finish second in Group C.

The Atlas Lions’s journey eventually ended in the quarter-finals following a 2-0 loss to France, although victories over the Netherlands on penalties in the round of 32 and co-hosts Canada in the last 16 had already given the African nation another memorable run.

Now returning to action more than two months after their World Cup exit, Morocco, who are currently placed sixth in the FIFA World Rankings, will look to begin their AFCON qualifying campaign on a perfect note after recording a clean sweep of their Group B bracket in the 2025 preliminaries to finish top of the table.

The Atlas Lions also have a formidable record on home soil, having remained unbeaten in regulation time since a 3-1 friendly loss to Burkina Faso in July 2025, a run that also includes their AFCON 2025 campaign at this same stadium.

Meanwhile, Gabon were also part of that 2025 qualifying group, making it unsurprising that they do not have the strongest recent head-to-head record against Friday's opponents after suffering 4-1 and 5-1 defeats in the two meetings, while the Central African nation are now without a win in the last three encounters.

The Panthers did finish runners-up in that bracket to qualify for the continental finals, but their main tournament campaign proved far less fruitful as they exited the group stage after losing all three matches against Cameroon, Mozambique and Ivory Coast.

That disappointment was somewhat unexpected given Gabon's otherwise encouraging World Cup qualifying campaign, where they finished second behind Group F winners Ivory Coast to earn a place in the African playoffs, only for their hopes of reaching North America to end with a 4-1 extra-time defeat to Nigeria.

Currently ranked 84th in the FIFA World Rankings, the Panthers have lost five of their last six matches, with their only success during that sequence coming on penalties against Trinidad and Tobago in March's FIFA Series after a 2-2 draw.

That said, Sebastien Migne’s first competitive assignment therefore arrives with Gabon searching for both consistency and a new attacking identity, particularly after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's retirement from international football.

Morocco form (all competitions):

Gabon form (all competitions):

Team News

Morocco will be without captain Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari through CAF suspension, with both players' bans stemming from incidents during the 2025 AFCON final.

Ouahbi has also had to contend with several notable absences, with Ayoub El Kaabi, Chadi Riad, Youssef Belammari, Youssef En-Nesyri and Hamza Igamane among those missing through injury or fitness issues, while Sofyan Amrabat made himself unavailable for selection.

The Atlas Lions will still have several established figures available, with Noussair Mazraoui, Brahim Diaz and Soufiane Rahimi among those expected to play prominent roles.

Gabon will be without Mario Lemina and Jim Allevinah after both players were ruled out with injuries, with Clech Loufilou and Randy Essang Matouti subsequently called into Migne's squad as replacements.

The Panthers also begin life without Aubameyang, who announced his international retirement earlier this month, and they will now look to Denis Bouanga and Rody Junior Effaghe, among others, to provide the attacking threat previously associated with their former captain.

Migne otherwise has plenty of experience at his disposal, with Aaron Appindangoye, Anthony Oyono, Jeremy Oyono, Andre Poko, Guelor Kanga and Didier Ndong among the senior figures who could be asked to provide stability during the new coach's first competitive assignment.

Morocco possible starting lineup:

Bounou; Mazraoui, Aguerd, Diop, Salah-Eddine; Ounahi, El Aynaoui; Brahim Diaz, El Khannouss, Ezzalzouli; Rahimi

Gabon possible starting lineup:

Amonome; A Oyono, Appindangoye, J Oyono, Ekomie; Poko, Kanga, Ndong; Bouanga, Babicka, Effaghe

We say: Morocco 2-0 Gabon

Morocco should have enough attacking quality to make their home advantage count, although Gabon's experienced core could make life uncomfortable for periods before the Atlas Lions' greater depth eventually tells.

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