Yassine Bounou known as Bono is a Moroccan footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Moroccan national football team and for the Sevilla club in Spanish La Liga. Yassine Bounou came into the limelight after his exceptionally brilliant performance in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 knockout match against Spain. After the final stoppage time including extra time, the match ended up as 0-0. Scored stayed as it is in the additional 30 minutes as well which lead the match to a penalty shootout. I must say, a penalty shootout completely depends on the goalkeeper, and here was the moment for both goalkeepers to shine for their respective countries. Yassine Bounou‘s not one, not two but three amazing saves lead Morrocco into the Quarter-Finals. He didn’t concede a single goal in a penalty shootout which was really an extraordinary performance from anyone.
What happened in a penalty shootout in Morocco vs Spain Match?
Captain of Morocco Romain Saïss won the toss and choose to go first.
First penalty shoot from Morocco:
Abdelhamid Sabiri took a shot on his right and Unai Simon missed it by jumping to another side.
First penalty shoot from Spain:
Pablo Sarabia took a low shot on his right but missed as the ball hits the post. Even Yassine Bounou jumped to the same side and was about to save it.
Second penalty shoot from Morocco:
Hakim Ziyech took a straight shot and Unai Simon jumped on his left, missing the second one in a row.
Second penalty shoot from Spain:
Carlos Soler took a similar shot same as the first one to his right and Yassine Bounou saves the second penalty.
Third penalty shoot from Morocco:
Badr Benoun took a shot on his left and Simon saved his first penalty with a jump to the correct side.
Third penalty shoot from Spain:
Sergio Busquets steps up and took a shot to his left and Yassine Bounou makes another amazing save. Now only a goal is needed for Morocco.
Fourth penalty shoot from Morocco:
Achraf Hakimi steps up and shoots straight slightly right-tilted and Morocco is through with a 3-0 win in penalties.
What a deserving win for Morocco!!! First time ever Morocco entered into Quarter-Finals!!! What a Game!!!
Why Yassine Bounou is trending after Morocco vs Spain match?
Goalkeepers come into the headlines after saving a single penalty but this man literally shook the world. Saved three penalties in a row. Are you kidding me? Three penalties in a row!!! That was really an exceptional performance. Saving penalties is the most difficult task for any goalkeeper in football. Because the reaction time you get is very low. So usually goalkeepers try to predict his moves and jump blindly to any side. But how accurately Yassine Bounou picked the shot directions in a fraction of a second was next level. He looked confident and not had blind jumps. Instead, he carefully observed opponents moves and accurately detected his shot location. For me, Yassine Bounou is the man of the match in the Morocco vs Spain match.
Everything you need to know about Yassine Bounou!!!
Yassine Bounou is a professional Moroccan footballer and goalkeeper who plays for the Moroccan National Football team and for Spanish club Sevilla. Yassine spent most of his career in Spain, making 100+ La Liga appearances for Girona and Sevilla clubs, and 56 in Segunda División for Zaragoza and Girona. He won the UEFA Europa League with Sevilla in 2020. Yassine represented his nation in two FIFA World Cups and three Africa Cup of Nations. He even played for the under-23 team at the 2012 Olympics.
Canada-born Yassine Bounou moved to Morocco at an early age and made his senior debut with Wydad Casablanca in 2011. Yassine Bounou played for many Spanish clubs like Wydad Casablanca(2011-2012), Atlético Madrid(2012-2014), Zaragoza(2014-2016), Girona(2016-2019), and Sevilla(2019-till date).
Yassine Bounou was eligible to represent Canada as well. But he choose to play for Morocco after getting selected for the Moroccan under-20 squad at the 2012 Toulon Tournament. In 2013, he was called up to the Moroccan National Football Team in the main squad. And this was the moment he was waiting for. His first match in the main squad was a friendly match against Burkina Faso which Morocco lose by 1-2. He was the first-choice goalkeeper in the 2018 World Cup hosted by Russia. Later on, He played in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. In this tournament, he made headlines for his defense of Arabic and refusal to speak to the press in any other language. And now in 2022, he is representing his team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. Morocco reached the Quarter-Finals and will face Portugal in Quarter-Finals knockout match. He was the hero to lead Morocco into the Quarter-Finals.
Yassine Bounou as a Goalkeeper
In La Liga, his goal-saving percentage is over 70 which is amazing. In the Champions League, it is around 53%. In the penalty shootout, his saving percentage is over 20. He had an amazing carrier as a goalkeeper in all Spanish Leagues. He is getting improved day by day and proved me correct in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match against Spain. He is playing for Spanish clubs only and has a complete idea of their playing style. He literally singal handily defeated Spain you can say so.
Yassine Bounou’s Individual Achievements
La Liga Awards
Yassine Bounou won Zamora Trophy in 2021–2022.
The same year, Yassine won the Mid-Season African MVP and African MVP.
Before this, Yassine already won the UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season award in 2019-2020.
In 2021-2022, he won the CIES La Liga Team of the Season.
And in the same year 2021-2022, Yassine won Best Moroccan goalkeeper abroad.
Most of his achievements are in the years 2021 and 2022. Currently, he is in tremendous form and hoping to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 title for his team. Let’s see how Morocco will perform in future knockout matches.
Will Yassine Bounou be effective against Portugal’s best attack in the Quarter-Finals match?
I think he will manage the Portugal attack as he looks far better than Switzerland’s goalkeeper Sommer. Even Moroccan defenders are far better than Switzerland’s defenders. This will be a close fight against the best attackers vs the best defenders. The Moroccan attack is also quite impressive. Morocco is really a tough team and I hope Portugal will not take them as granted. They have shown their ability by defeating football giants like Belgium and Spain. Even though the Portugal team is looking in tremendous form and they even have abilities to defeat any team in this tournament. According to me, it will be a close fight. Morocco will fill less pressure than Portugal as they already have achieved a lot more than they could ever expect. Ronaldo’s Portugal will fill more pressure than Morocco as they won’t digest a defeat from a team who qualified first time ever.
Let’s see what happens. But in my opinion, Morocco will defeat Portugal. What’s your opinion on this? Leave your comment in the comment section below.
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