A story of penalties. Beaten in the CAN 2025 final by Senegal this Sunday in Rabat (1-0 after), Morocco experienced new disappointment in the African Cup. In search of their first continental trophy since 1976, the Atlas Lions have experienced numerous painful outings in recent years during which they have not shown themselves to be very skillful in shooting on goal.
Brahim Diaz’s missed panenka, at the end of added time, thus completed an already well-stocked list. Morocco has in fact missed five of its last eight penalties attempted during the CAN, excluding the penalty shootout, OptaJean reported on Monday.
If the Real Madrid attacking midfielder had converted the award during the match against Mali in the group stage (1-1), Soufiane Rahimi had failed during the opening match against the Comoros (2-0), on December 21.
The traumas of Hakimi and Ziyech
Before Diaz, other Moroccan shooters experienced trauma during the CAN exercise. Achraf Hakimi notably missed the equalizing penalty in the round of 16 against South Africa during the 2023 edition (0-3).
Hakim Ziyech’s shot ended up on the post in the 95th minute of the 8th final against Benin, ultimately lost by Morocco after a cruel penalty shootout in 2019 (1-1, 4-1 tab). So, coincidence or curse? One thing is certain, the Atlas Lions know what exercise to work on in view of the next CAN, co-organized by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2027.
