FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: Can Morocco captain Ghizlane Chebbak follow on from men’s success in Qatar 2022?

Last year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations awoke the world to women’s football in Morocco.

Finishing as runners-up after a 2-1 loss in the final to South Africa, hosts Morocco booked themselves a place at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

It was Moroccan captain Ghizlane Chebbak who finished as joint top goal scorer in the competition, as well as being named Player of the Tournament and in the The Best Tournament XI.

Now, following on from her success last summer and Morocco’s triumph at the 2022 Men’s Qatar World Cup, the Moroccan midfielder has her sights set on impressing during her country’s Women’s World Cup debut.

Ghizlane Chebbak: Following in her father's footsteps 

It comes as no surprise to Moroccan fans that Ghizlane Chebbak grew to become one of the biggest women’s football stars in their country.

Chebback was born into a family of athletes and most notably her father, Larbi Chebbak, was a professional footballer in the 1970s for Union Sidi Kacem and Morocco.

In 1976, her father led Morocco to an AFCON win and following in his success, Ghizland Chebbak has already led her country to a debut World Cup - making Morocco the first ever Arab country to appear at a Women’s World Cup.

Despite negative attitudes towards women’s football in Morocco, Chebbak has pushed on throughout her career, paving the way for herself and others - and her father has supported her choices.

Larbi Chebbak sadly passed away in 2020, before getting to see his daughter lead Morocco to an AFCON final.

“I always think about my father and his advice, because he was always my first supporter,” Chebbak told the Confederation of African Football (CAF). “On the day of the opening match (in Women’s AFCON), I experienced things that I had never experienced before; a stadium full of fans and football lovers. Most people knew my father. So I did my best to pay tribute to him and to make my country proud. I am living a dream,” she added.

Before joining her current club, Chebback spent time abroad and with the Difaa Ain Sebaa men's team due to the lack of recognised women’s teams in her home country.

In 2012, she joined the Association's Sports of Forces Armed Royal women (AS FAR), a professional club based in Rabat affiliated with the men’s team of AS FAR.

The 32 year old has so far won ten Moroccan Championships with her club, as well as being named the Championship’s top scorer on four separate occasions.

She also won the 2021 CAF Women’s Champions League UNAF Qualifiers with AS FAR, scoring twice in the competition including once in AS FAR’s 10-0 win over Tunisia’s AS Banque de l’Habitat.

Ghizlane Chebbak: Leading Morocco to glory

Not only does Chebbak captain her country, she is also Morocco’s most capped player and leading goalscorer with 21 goals in 56 appearances, making her the real engine room of Morocco’s setup.

In 2022, Chebbak led Morocco to the women’s AFCON final following an impressive string of results. 

They kicked off their campaign with a perfect three wins from three to top Group A - with Chebbak scoring in each group fixture.

The Atlas Lionesses then went onto face Botswana in the quarter finals, whom they beat 2-1, which set them up for a semi-final clash against Nigeria.

With a 1-1 score after extra time, the game went to penalties and Morocco came out on top winning 5-4 - with Chebbak converting the second spot kick.

The final was played against South Africa at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat in front of a crowd of 51,000. 

South Africa went into the fixture with an immense amount of experience behind them, having reached the final five times prior to 2022 as well as achieving third place on two other occasions.

This was the first time that Morocco had found themselves in an AFCON final, and despite their efforts, narrowly lost 2-1 to the experienced South Africa.

Despite the AFCON loss, their campaign performance was enough to secure them a spot at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Captain Ghizlane Chebbak wasn’t only praised for her performance on the pitch - but also off of it, with the 32 year old inspiring the next generation of women’s footballers in Morocco. 

After another successful season for club and country, Chebbak now looks to this summer where she will compete in her first ever World Cup. 

“The Atlas Lionesses aren’t going to the World Cup to make up the numbers," she told FIFA. "Our aim is to compete with the biggest teams at the tournament.”

When to watch Morocco:

Morocco will kick off their debut Women’s World Cup campaign on July 24th against Women’s European Championship finalists Germany.

They will go on to play South Korea and Colombia in the rest of Group H.