The question crossed the minds of many followers. Author of a completely missed panenka at the end of added time this Sunday during the final lost by Morocco against Senegal, Brahim Diaz missed the opportunity to offer the Atlas Lions their first CAN in 50 years.
After around fifteen minutes of interruption, the Real Madrid attacking midfielder attempted a particularly difficult technical gesture in a moment of extreme tension and did not surprise Édouard Mendy, who remained in the center of the cage to calmly capture this poorly executed penalty.
Enough to shock the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat but also viewers around the world. On social networks, some even asked the question of whether Brahim Diaz had voluntarily missed his penalty to compensate for the injustice denounced by the Senegalese, ready to stop playing before being called back onto the field by Sadio Mané.
“You have to be serious”
A thesis reinforced, for some followers, by the brief discussion between Diaz and Mendy before the penalty and by the absence of celebration by the Lions of Teranga after the save of their goalkeeper. The latter did not subscribe to it at all at the end of the game. “We have to be serious… There’s one minute left, they’ve been waiting for 50 years to win… Do you think we’ll get along? He wanted to score, I had the credit of stopping him,” launched the last defense of Al-Ahli at the microphone of BeIN Sports, brushing aside any possibility of an arrangement with the Moroccan shooter.
During his post-match press conference, Walid Regragui, the Atlas Lions coach, clearly did not support the theory of a missed penalty out of fair play. “He had a lot of time before winning the title, it must have disturbed him,” said the 50-year-old technician, who had given the competition’s top scorer a huge blow at the start of extra time.
“We stopped the match in front of the world for 10 minutes. It’s not an excuse on how to shoot it but we’re not going to go back. Brahim hit a shot on goal against Mali and scored it. Today (Sunday), he missed it. It’s part of football,” he commented without faltering.
“Lack of respect towards an entire people”
One thing is certain: in Morocco, the crazy gesture of Brahim Diaz still does not pass this Monday. If The morning is content to mention “a failure” of the attacking midfielder “in his attempt at panenka”, As is speaks of a “panenka failed in an atrocious way”, headlined by a “cataclysm in Rabat”.
On the social network “We must be prepared to assume the consequences,” he writes. Another considers panenka “a selfish gesture”. “It’s wanting history to remember you beyond victory. It’s wanting to go beyond anonymity with the flat of one’s foot. You have no right to try that yesterday (Sunday),” concludes the Internet user.
Brahim Diaz, inconsolable on the Moroccan bench once Senegal’s victory was confirmed, has not yet spoken to return to his missed penalty. The last public image of the Madrilenian remains for the moment the presentation of his title of top scorer of CAN 2025, with tears in his eyes, under the whistles of the Moroccan spectators.
