The Hassan II Trophy (official name: ''Coupe internationale Hassan II de football''), was a friendly football tournament organised by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation that was played in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. There have been three tournaments: the first in December of 1996, and the remaining two in the summers of 1998 and 2000 as warm-ups to big tournaments such as 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.

Summary

Four editions took place, in 1996, 1998 and 2000 and 2008. The Moroccan national team competed in each of the four tournaments, along with numerous invited national teams at their choice, and for the first edition in 1996, they tried to invite the 1996 European champions,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, but they refused to participate, so they invited the runners-ups instead,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. The four participants of the first edition were

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, the 1996 Euro finalists Czech Republic, the newly independent

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and hosts Morocco. and the inaugural tournament was won by Croatia after prevailing over the Czech Republic in the penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw. At least 6 players that started in the Croatia team that started the final would go on to achieve Bronze in the 1998 World Cup two years later.

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, World Cup hosts

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and hosts Morocco were the four participants of the second edition, which was won by France after beating Morocco in the final, also on penalties, after 2-2 draw). The France team that started the final would go on to win the World Cup a few weeks later. The 1999 LG Cup (Morocco).

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, 1998 World Cup champions

(Morocco favored France probably because of their WWII history) and hosts Morocco were the four participants of the third edition, which was won by France after beating Morocco in the final 5-1. The Moroccans intended to host a fourth edition of the competition in May of 2002 as a warm-up for the 2002 World Cup, which would include the 2000 European Champions France, and either

or South Korea, the World Cup hosts, but they failed to hold the tournament for unknown reasons, but some sources claim that was due to geographical problems as Morocco and Japan/South Korea are too far apart, thus interfering with the team's program (schedules, train E.T.C) for the upcoming World Cup. The Moroccans then tried to host the fourth edition of the competition in May of 2004, and the RSSSF states that it took place “probably in May; invited teams possibly

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, South Korea and Cameroon”, but there is no official records of the 2004 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament. On 28 April 2004, Morocco faced Argentina at Stade Mohammed V, but the game went down as a friendly.

Winners

Top Scorers

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
International association football competitions hosted by Morocco International men's association football invitational tournaments

Summary

Winners

Top Scorers

See also

References

External links