FOXBOROUGH, MA – For the second consecutive World Cup, Morocco exited the tournament in its knockout stages in a 2-0 defeat against France.
The result could have been significantly worse if not for a heroic performance in net from Yassine Bounou.
The 35-year-old keeper put together a tremendous performance to keep the Atlas Lions in a match that was largely dominated by Les Bleus.
"We were very happy that Yassine Bounou managed to save us a few times," backup goalkeeper Munir El Kajoui said when asked about his teammate's performance after the match.
Indeed, Bounou was locked in from the start of the quarterfinal match. He was immediately tested in the match's fourth minute when Dayot Upamecano, a 6-foot-1 center back, got his head on a well-placed cross and drove it on net.
Bounou tracked the shot well and knocked it away from net, preventing the early score and allowing Morocco to continue sitting most of their players behind the ball to try to take away space from a potent French attack.
Later in the first half, Bounou had what may end up being the lasting moment of the 2026 World Cup for the Moroccans. The Atlas Lions conceded a penalty to France in the match's 28th minute, and Kylian Mbappé strolled to the spot to take the kick.
Mbappé had never missed a penalty kick across his three World Cups before his effort against Bounou. While the strike wasn't the 27-year-old Frenchman's best – Mbappé admitted as much after the match and explained he had become "de-concentrated" amid the lengthy VAR review – Bounou still did well to read it and stop it.
That gave his country a jolt of energy as the Moroccan fans on-hand at Boston Stadium showered him with cheers of approval.
Bounou continued to be under heat throughout the match thanks to the Atlas Lions' chosen style of play. France dominated possession in the match's early stage, before surrendering some late after building its lead, but it still generated 22 attempts on goal with eight being on-target.
Bounou finished the match with six saves. The only shots that beat him were a couple of world-class strikes from Mbappé – who bent his attempt perfectly into the right corner of the net to open the scoring in the 60th minute – and Ousmane Dembélé.
Without Bounou's stellar performance, the score-line could have been a lot uglier for Morocco, which only got one shot on target and logged just 0.14 expected goals to France's 3.04.
That's why Munir came out of the match so impressed by what his longtime national teammate was able to accomplish, even as Morocco exited the World Cup.
"Bono always is here," the 37-year-old said, referring to Bounou by his nickname. "His performance, he always does what he's gotta do for the national team. It's amazing."
"We are very happy to have him on our team," Munir later added. "I say thank you to him for all the things he do for our country, for our team, as a person and as a goalkeeper."
Source: USA Today
