Morocco’s World Cup Hero Yassine Bounou Reflects on Historic Semi-Final Run

"I hope to live other [similar] moments. It will make me proud and happy. It’s the passion. For me, it’s all about passion," said Yassine Bounou in an interview with FIFA+. The Atlas Lions reached the semi-finals of a World Cup for the first time in their history. An exploit of which the goalkeeper is one of the architects. He was also named "man of the match" twice during the World Cup matches against Portugal and Spain.

"The streets were full of supporters and we felt that something exceptional was happening. In our heads, we only thought about reaching the final. It was not possible, but we had done something incredible," recalls the one who was nicknamed during the World Cup, "the hero" and "the smiling hero", before emphasizing that there are talents in the national team "who contributed to the success of the selection."

Yassine also thanked fate for giving him this chance. "Without football, I don’t know who I would be," he says, also pleased with the close relationship he has with the national team: "They are like my family."