Moroccan Star Hakimi Faces Backlash After Missed Penalties for Olympic Team

On the web, many Moroccans are asking national coach Tarik Sektioui to prevent Hakimi from taking penalties and give the chance to other more competent players in this area, such as Soufiane Rahimi. These calls follow the missed penalties of the Moroccan international during the last friendly match of the Olympic team against the French team FCVB. He had already missed two decisive penalties, the first against Tanzania during the qualifications for the 2026 World Cup, and the second against South Africa in the round of 16 of the last Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

Clearly, Achraf Hakimi is not very good at penalties. To support their request, some Moroccan Internet users reported the words of Antonio Conte, who had forbidden the Moroccan international to take penalties with Inter Milan. "Achraf Hakimi can take penalties in my team on one condition, it’s if all the other players are dead," the Italian technician had declared. Former Moroccan national team coach Vahid Halilhodžić had also revealed that Hakimi had asked him to take the penalties. His answer was unequivocal: "Hakimi asked me to take the penalties, I told him that when he takes them in Paris, he can take them with the national team."

Paris and several cities in France will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Placed in group B, the Atlas Cubs will face Argentina, Ukraine and Iraq.