Yassine Bounou’s World Cup heroics for Morocco were not enough to defeat France

Morocco’s fearless belief combined with France’s wastefulness almost turned into a recipe for another upset in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Yassine Bounou (aka Bono), the Moroccan goalkeeper made a miraculous penalty save that kept his from going down early and avoided the scenario of chasing an equalizer from early in the game.

In an edition that has seen the underdog knockout the favorite more than once, this tie had the ingredients for a repeat. But, Kylian Mbappé and co found the next gear to churn out two goals and put an end to any chance of an upset.

Désiré Doué’s duel with Achraf Hakimi saw France regain possession. A brilliant pass from Olise gave Mbappe the option of cutting inside or running past Noussair Mazraoui. The feint from the French captain duped the defender, forcing out a late tackle in the penalty box to stop Mbappé’s run. After a lengthy check, VAR confirmed the referee’s decision of penalty.

A whole three minutes elapsed between the penalty being called and it actually being taken. VAR took an unusually lengthy period of time to confirm the referee’s decision. Mbappé who had been waiting on the spot was at the slight disadvantage due to the delay as his rhythm was repeatedly disturbed.

Bono’s fake movement before his actual dive disguised his true direction. Mbappé who decided to go for a stuttering penalty could not read his opponent. In fact, the pause due to the stutter further confused the striker as he just could not make up his mind. The resulting shot was not only lacking in power but was far away from the corner. An underpowered shot that hardly reached halfway between the center and the corner of the goal turned out to be just the save Bono needed to keep his team alive.

The save in 27th minute meant Morocco could keep the scores level until France’s first goal arrived in the 60th minute. The Africans opted to overload their own half to put a stop to the stacked attacking lineup of Les Bleus. It prevented the from taking chances like they usually do and that ultimately cost them game. Their xG of 0.14 was an accurate reflection of Morocco’s pragmatic approach of an otherwise exciting team in the World Cup.

Apart from the penalty save and an open play save against Mbappé, the Moroccon made crucial saves against Désiré Doué, Mateta and Lucas Digne. Here is his save against Doué from close quarters:

Alas, Bono’s heroics could only give his team time that was never capitalized upon. Nonetheless, Morocco went out against the potential champions and can hold their heads high as their World Cup campaign comes to an end.

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