Yassine Bounou: The guy who blocked Spain out of FIFA WC

NEW DELHI: Eight or 9 out of ten occasions, footballers are anticipated to attain from the spot or by means of penalty kicks. But historical past has it that even probably the most largest gamers of all time have ignored spot kicks.
At the FIFA World Cup, probably the most ignored penalty kicks have change into a part of folklore. Who can omit Michel Plaitini’s pass over vs Brazil within the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals or essentially the most well-known of all of them – Roberto Baggio’s pass over vs Brazil within the 1994 World Cup ultimate.
Sometimes the photographs are wayward, and every so often the photographs are stopped via goalkeepers.

So prime is the scoring proportion from consequences that no blame is placed on goalkeepers if the purpose is scored but when the goalkeepers forestall any of the consequences, they’re thought to be heroes.
Now recall to mind Yassine Bounou who stopped no longer one however two penalty kicks as Morocco shocked Spain in a penalty shootout to achieve the World Cup quarter-finals for the primary time of their historical past.
After 120 mins with out a purpose at Education City Stadium (legislation time+ additional time), Spain failed to attain a unmarried spot kick as Bounou stored two and Pablo Sarabia hit the submit.

Bounou, who’s nicknamed ‘Bono’ blocked photographs from Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets and that left Achraf Hakimi to settle the tie with a nerveless kick to power the predominantly Moroccan crowd into the stadium wild.
Morocco are simply the fourth African group to achieve the closing 8 of a World Cup after Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.
Spain, the 2010 World Cup winners, failed to wreck down the athletic Moroccan facet, with Bounou creating a superb save from Dani Olmo‘s free-kick in one of the most perfect possibilities of legislation time.

Born in Montreal, Canada, the 6’4″ tall Bounou moved to Morocco at an early age, and is now playing in his third FIFA World Cup. The tall keeper also played for the Morocco under-23 team at the 2012 Olympics.
At the club level, Bounou plays for Sevilla in Spain and won the UEFA Europa League in 2020 with the Spanish club, who beat Inter Milan 3-2 in the final.

Morocco’s quarterfinal opponent on Saturday will be Portugal. Both teams are eyeing their maiden World Cup title, but the Moroccans have already made World Cup history. And they have a certain Yassine Bounou to thank for that.
Just how big his contribution was in Morocco’s win vs Spain was evident from the celebrations that followed the winning kick. Moroccan players piled onto Bounou, congratulating him for a long time after the match got over.
He will now be trying to get himself ready for the Portuguese challenge. That quarter-final match kicks-off at 8:30PM IST on Saturday, December 10.