A deafening background sound, an entire stadium in full delirium and a bubble which interrupts time, freezing the surrounding jubilation. In the middle of the penalty area, Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz are elsewhere, in their world, that of those who win, that of those who give up. In each other’s arms, the two strong men of the Moroccan selection are in tears, tested, exhausted, relieved, quite simply happy as hell!
This Wednesday evening, they have not yet won anything, except the right to play in the final of the African Cup of Nations against Senegal in four days. But for them, who knew they were not allowed to take their Sunday off, it is obviously gigantic. Because if the Atlas Lions snatched qualification for the last round from Nigeria, it was Morocco as a whole who entered the final after this too suffocating penalty shootout. A necessary happy ending as the rest of the film had put the thrills in the stands to the test and the nerves on edge, a little further down on the pitch.
Youssef En-Nesyri’s penalty, transformed into a sort of suspended moment, therefore logically freed everything and everyone. With a snap of the fingers or rather a nice slap of the paw, the 22 years spent chomping at the bit since the 2004 final gave way to moments of jubilation that even a very big wedding day would not offer. The madness from floor to ceiling, the fever from the stands to the pitch, with the exception of the Super Eagles and their supporters frozen in pain, insanity has taken over the Moulay Abdellah Stadium as a whole.
Bounou, the providential man
Everyone, between two hugs, of course looked at the heroes of the day. All the Lions, but in particular the reckless ones, happy or unhappy, from the penalty shootout: Neil El Aynaoui, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Hamza Igamane, Achraf Hakimi, Youssef En-Nesyri and of course, Yassine Bounou, the goalkeeper, without whom the dream would have turned into a nightmare.
“I have no words,” breathes Achraf Hakimi at the microphone of BeIN Sports. We are very happy, proud… It’s a unique moment for us, we have made history, once again. The team, the staff and all Moroccans deserve it. We are very happy, we would like to enjoy today but we have not finished the work. The best part is yet to come, it will be the 18th (Editor’s note: January, the day of the final). »
Voted man of the match following his two decisive saves, Bounou, the providential man, presented himself at a press conference with a smile. Applauded by the vast majority of the audience, Bounou also took the opportunity to let go in a tasty and second-rate exchange with a Moroccan journalist questioning him in English, the same one that the player had criticized in Qatar in 2022 for his way of questioning him in a foreign language.
“Did you see the atmosphere? »
This time, the Moroccan goalkeeper frankly smiled, even concluding his time at the microphone with a little play on words in Darija which sparked hilarity among his compatriots. “Me in football, I’m just there to keep watch,” he concluded, using a term referring to building or parking lot guards.
A smile also worn by the indestructible midfielder Neil El Aynaoui in the mixed zone. “It was incredible,” breathes the former Lensois with laughing eyes. Have you seen the atmosphere and the completely crazy scenario? It’s a crazy thing, when you play in this stadium, you have the impression of being one, two or even three more than the opponent on the pitch. They push us and it’s exceptional. We’re going to make the most of this evening already because there isn’t much time to do it between now and Sunday. And then we’re going to switch to the match. »
THE match, the one that all of Morocco is waiting for and which must end with fireworks to celebrate a coronation that the nation has been waiting for since the one and only coronation of 1976. “At the start of the CAN, we agreed to meet on the 18th,” continues El Aynaoui. I won’t say that we have done the hardest part, but at least a good part of the way. We have the most important one left. »
An opinion shared by the wise Romain Saïss. “We know that there is a lot of waiting,” slips the defender. We know our people, we know that they are passionate about football and that they are fully behind us. We have been eating our black bread for a while, we have been waiting 22 years to play a final again, 50 years since our last title, so they are impatient, like us! Now that we are where we wanted to be, we hope that on Sunday we will have a great party across the country. »
