In the squad called up by Jorge Vilda for the 2026 Women’s AFCON at home, the unexpected has a name: Kautar Azraf.
At just 18, the Barcelona striker, who has yet to play a single match with the Catalan club’s first team, will discover Morocco’s senior national team on the continental stage, having only received her first call-up last February.
Born on January 3rd, 2008, in Manresa, 60km north of Barcelona, Azraf holds both Moroccan and Spanish nationality. Right-footed, she plays as a centre forward and stands 1.74m tall.
Her journey at Barca began well before joining the senior ranks. Spotted at Igualada, where she had already scored 45 goals in the Alevin category (U11-12), she joined the Catalans' academy and has been piling up goals ever since.
In the 2021/22 season, she was part of the team that made club history by achieving a perfect record with 100% wins while playing in a boys’ league, where she finished as top scorer with 88 goals.
In 2024, while playing in the U19 category, Spanish media outlet Relevo already described her as "one of the 10 talents to watch from the women’s La Masia," with 26 goals and the top spot in the scoring charts of the Preferente Juvenil de Catalunya.
International with Morocco... and Spain!
This goal-scoring instinct naturally paved her way to the reserve team, after a stint with the C team. Azraf joined Barca B in September 2025 for her first season at senior level, competing in the Primera Federacion, Spain’s second-tier women’s league.
The results speak for themselves: 19 matches played, 17 as a substitute, and four goals scored in the league, including one in a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid. She was regularly involved in a squad that won the D2 championship, Barca B’s third title in this division in four seasons.
She also played a part in the move that led to Barca B’s equaliser in the decisive win over Fundacion Albacete, clinching the title. Azraf also played two matches in the Catalonia Women’s Cup that same season.
Her international career isn’t limited to Morocco. Before wearing the Atlas Lionesses’ colours, she represented Spain at U15 level during the UEFA Development Tournament in November 2022, as well as the Catalan regional team, which called her up several times.
In July 2023, at just 15 and a half, she received her first call-up to Morocco’s U17s for two friendlies in Yaounde against Cameroon. Starting in the second match, she scored a free kick that allowed Morocco to snatch a draw.
After a stint with Spain’s U16s in October 2023, she returned to the Moroccan squad in June 2024 for the final round of U17 World Cup qualifiers. Against Zambia, she scored Morocco’s only goal in a 3-1 defeat in Lusaka, which wasn’t enough to prevent elimination despite a goalless draw in the return leg in Berkane.
The following year, Morocco hosted the U17 World Cup from October 17th to November 8th, 2025. Starting every match, Azraf played all three group games against Brazil, Italy, and Costa Rica before being knocked out in the round of 16 by North Korea, who went on to win the tournament.
Meanwhile, in June 2024, Jorge Vilda called her up to the U20s to prepare for the World Cup in Colombia. In a tough group against Paraguay, the United States, and Spain, Morocco lost all three matches by the same score (2-0), but Azraf, then 16 and the youngest player in the squad, played every minute of the tournament, marking Morocco’s first-ever appearance at the level.
Surprise call-up for WAFCON 2026
Her senior debut came in April 2026: coming on for Ibtissam Jraidi against Tanzania on April 13th, in a 3-0 win at Moulay Hassan Stadium. In June, she was included in the extended squad for two friendlies against Benin and New Zealand, and started in the 0-0 draw with the New Zealanders.
On July 17th, Jorge Vilda announced the final list of 26 for the 2026 WAFCON: Azraf is the youngest player in the squad, even though she has yet to play a single professional minute.
Her inclusion owes much to the philosophy of Vilda, the Spanish coach who led Spain’s women to the 2023 World Cup title. Keeping most of the core that reached the 2024 WAFCON final (held in 2025) - lost to Nigeria after leading 2-0 - he chose to blend experience and youth rather than rely solely on continuity.
Around captain Ghizlane Chebbak, reigning African Ballon d’Or at 35, and key players like Fatima Tagnaout and Jraidi, who scored five goals in six matches for the national team this year, Azraf represents the gamble in this squad.
Described as combative and possessing a powerful shot, she is expected, according to the Moroccan federation, to bring speed, penetration, and creativity to the attack.
The recent history of Moroccan women’s football has shown that a home WAFCON can accelerate many careers, and the host nation usually starts strong: in the previous thirteen editions of the tournament, the host has won its opening match eleven times.
Against Kenya on Sunday, playing only their second women’s AFCON and having scored just three goals in five matches this year before facing Lesotho, Morocco will be clear favourites. This could well give the youngest member of the squad her first minutes in the competition, in a stadium that, just a year earlier, saw the Atlas Lionesses lose the final in front of their home fans.