Morocco faced Burundi on Tuesday, May 26 in an international friendly at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé, kicking off at 12:00 p.m. Morocco time as the hosts completed the final match of their pre‑World Cup build‑up at home.
Coach Mohamed Ouahbi treated the fixture as a live examination: the match was expected to form part of his last assessment before he confirmed the squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the final list due to be announced at a press conference at the same complex on Tuesday.
The friendly arrived after a short run of preparatory results since Ouahbi took charge in March — Morocco drew 1–1 with Ecuador and beat Paraguay 2–1 — and was one of several warm‑ups scheduled ahead of the tournament, with reporting additional friendlies against Madagascar and Norway.
For fans, the game was available on Arryadia, with streaming options noted by Tom's Guide: the match was available live on SNRT Live for free in Morocco, with the outlet listing kick‑off at 12 p.m. BST / 7 a.m. ET. Tom's Guide added that SNRT Live is a free‑to‑air service restricted to Moroccan residents and that Arryadia was required to view the broadcast in the country.
The stakes are practical and immediate. Morocco will enter the 2026 World Cup in Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti; the friendly against Burundi was being used to measure fitness, tactical discipline and player readiness for that group stage challenge. Ouahbi’s decisions now will determine who carries Morocco into a group that includes the tournament favourites Brazil.
There was an unavoidable tension in the afternoon’s schedule: the squad announcement was set for the same day as the friendly, yet the coach was also using the match as a final evaluation. That places players on the knife edge — those who still had to prove match fitness or form could find themselves judged both on performance and on the limited time available for assessment before the press conference.
Logistics and access mattered for supporters planning to follow the final build‑up. The local kick‑off at 12:00 p.m. Morocco time matched listings that converted to 12 p.m. BST and 7 a.m. ET, and broadcasters in Morocco carried the game on Arryadia with SNRT Live providing a free stream for residents, according to reporting on viewing options.
What follows is straightforward: Ouahbi will deliver a final squad list at the Mohammed VI Football Complex on Tuesday, closing this chapter of preparation and sending a defined unit toward Group C. The key question for supporters and opponents alike is which players — tested in Salé and on the friendlies since March — will survive Ouahbi’s final cut and take Morocco into the 2026 World Cup.
