Yassine “Bono” Bounou made history after leading the Moroccan national team to the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Moroccan national team has qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup after defeating Spain via penalties at the Education City Stadium, Wednesday (7/12/2022).
The winner of the Morocco vs Spain match had to be determined on penalties because the goalless game lasted until extra time. Bono became the hero of the victory for the Moroccan national team. He managed to ward off the kicks of two Spanish penalty takers, namely Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets.
Bono’s performance was very solid because he also successfully read the direction of Pablo Sarabia’s penalty which hit the left post of the Moroccan goal. The Moroccan national team eventually came out victorious with a final score of 3-0 (0-0). The only penalty taker for the Moroccan national team who failed to fulfill his duties was Badr Benoun.
The brilliant performance in the penalty shoot-out match between Morocco and Spain led Bono to make World Cup history. Quoted from Sofa Score, Bono is now listed as the first and only African goalkeeper to be able to save two kicks in a World Cup penalty shootout.
After the match, Bono, who was named the best player or man of the match in the Morocco vs Spain match, said he was proud of his country’s achievements. “I am very happy for the Moroccan national team. We played very extraordinary throughout the match. The performance of the Moroccan national team as a whole was very good,” Bono said as quoted by FIFA. “This is an extraordinary result for all the players,” the Sevilla goalkeeper added.
Along with Bono, the Moroccan national team also made history by qualifying for the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. The Atlas lions, nicknamed the Moroccan national team, became the fourth African team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The Moroccan national team followed in the footsteps of Cameroon (World Cup 1990), Senegal (2002), and also Ghana (2010). In the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, the Morocco will face Portugal.
