Published on 6/29/2026
|
Last update: 15:12 (Mecca time)
A football coach with dual Moroccan and Belgian citizenship. He began his coaching career in Belgium, where he worked with a number of clubs, and gained extensive experience in preparing and developing players of different age groups. He joined the Moroccan national team in 2022 as coach of the youth team, before taking over as coach of the first team in 2026, succeeding Walid Regragui.
His coaching beginnings began at an early age with Maccabi Brussels, before he joined Anderlecht, one of the most prominent elite clubs in Belgium. He spent nearly 17 years within its academy, which allowed him to accumulate deep experience in dealing with players of different ages.
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
In 2022, he took over coaching the Moroccan national team for the under-20 category, and achieved remarkable results with him that culminated in the World Cup title in 2025. This station represented a prominent turning point in his career, qualifying him to take over the leadership of the “Atlas Lions”, at a pivotal stage in the team’s history, after reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2022 under the leadership of Regragui, as the first Arab and African team to achieve this achievement.
In the 2026 World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, Wehbe led the “Atlas Lions” to the round of 32, after a remarkable performance in the group stage, which enabled the team to achieve second place in the third group on goal difference behind Brazil.
Birth and upbringing
Mohamed Wehbe was born on September 7, 1976 in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to a Moroccan family hailing from the city of Nador in northern Morocco, who immigrated to Belgium in the 1970s. Wehbi holds both Moroccan and Belgian nationalities.
His passion for football began when he was ten years old, after he watched the 1986 World Cup, and was inspired by the historic achievement of the Moroccan national team, which reached the round of 16 as the first African team to achieve this achievement in the history of the World Cup.
Wehbe later chose to take a career path in the field of education, and was a teacher at Charles Boulos Elementary School before moving towards training.
Beginnings in Belgium
Mohamed Wehbe was not yet 21 years old when he had his first training experience with the youth group at Maccabi Brussels Club, a station that he considers, according to his statements, a fundamental turning point in building his self-confidence within the world of training, and he continued to work with the club for about 6 years.
In 2003, he joined Anderlecht as a coach for the minor groups, and in his first season he was assigned the task of coaching the under-9 team. From there, he began a gradual path within the club’s academy, moving between different age groups, all the way to the youth teams, in an experience that extended over years.
During the 2014-2015 season, he reached the semi-finals of the European Youth League with his under-21 team. This career contributed to giving him extensive experience in developing players and dealing with different age stages, so his journey with Anderlecht continued for nearly 17 years.
During his career, Wehbe obtained the “UEFA Pro” license, which is the highest coaching certificate in Europe, and qualifies him to lead teams in major European competitions such as the Champions League and the European League.
Training the Moroccan national team
Mohamed Wehbe began his journey with the Moroccan national team in 2022, when he took over supervision of the U-20 category in March of that year. He quickly achieved remarkable results with the national team, as under his leadership they won the North African Championship in 2024, before reaching the semi-finals of the North African Under-20 Championship in 2025, and reaching the World Youth Cup in Chile in the same year.
This upward path paved the way for him to assume responsibility for the first team in March 2026, succeeding Walid Regragui, who had led the Moroccan team to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, in a historic achievement that made it the first Arab and African team to reach this role, achieving fourth place in the tournament.
Under Wehbe’s leadership, the Moroccan national team succeeded in reaching the round of 32 of the World Cup in 2026, after a remarkable performance in the group stage, during which it demonstrated a prominent competitive presence. In the match against Brazil, the team shot 12 balls in the first half, and became the second team since 1966 to shoot at least 5 balls in the first ten minutes against Brazil in a World Cup match.
Against Scotland, the team recorded 601 successful passes, which is the highest tally for an African team in a World Cup match since 1966. As for Haiti, Moroccan possession reached 69%, which is the highest possession rate recorded by the team in a World Cup match.
His training methodology
Wehbe’s training methodology is based on intelligent and disciplined team play, paying special attention to the speed of transition from defense to attack. His style also focuses on possession of the ball, offensive play, and pressure on the opponent.
This style is seen as requiring high physical readiness and precise discipline, which explains Wehbe’s constant emphasis on the importance of physical fitness for players, as he says, “There is no difference between a 19-year-old player and a 34-year-old player. What matters is the level of each player and his ability to provide the best performance for the team.”
