Photo: Wikimedia Commons (free licence), cropped and styled by SportNestra — author and licence
Yassine Khalifi dreams of playing at the 2030 World Cup. The Moroccan midfielder at Sporting Charleroi also has his sights set on joining Morocco’s senior national team. Aged 21, he wants to keep improving and hopes to experience one of Europe’s five major leagues at a club suited to his qualities and style of play.
In comments to Le Soir, Khalifi described playing at the 2030 World Cup as a “great dream”. He knows that reaching the senior team will require more work and progress, with strong competition from Moroccan professionals playing in European leagues.
The midfielder also acknowledged that several Moroccan players currently have more experience and a higher competitive level than he does, with some featuring in the Champions League or Europa League. “They still have an advantage over me,” he said, stressing that he must keep working to gain the experience needed to compete for a place in the national side.
Khalifi, a world champion at under-20 level, believes preparation for the 2030 World Cup starts now. He aims to maintain his progress and produce good performances with his Belgian club to improve his chances of being called up to the senior team in the coming years. He also spoke of his hope of joining a club that matches his profile one day: playing for FC Barcelona, he said, “would be great”.
His club career has taken several steps. In the summer of 2023, he joined Lille and spent nearly two seasons with the reserve team before moving to Sporting Charleroi in the 2025 summer transfer window. Since the start of the current season, he has established himself in the side, after an initial season spent adapting to the squad and Belgian league, with limited playing time.
Born in Marrakech, Khalifi began playing football at the Mohammed VI Football Academy, which he joined at 12, before moving to Union Touarga at 17. His 2030 ambition is part of a progression he says he intends to continue, with a place in the senior national team as the next target.
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