Yassine Bounou salutes Morocco’s big-match mentality in road to AFCON final

The Atlas Lions edged past a dangerous Nigeria side on penalties in a tense semifinal at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Wednesday night, with Bounou emerging as the hero in the shootout.

The goalkeeper, who was named Man of the Match for his decisive saves, told SABC Sport afterwards that the team’s big-match temperament was key to their historic achievement.

"I'm so happy because we haven't made it to the final since 2004 so it's a historic moment for all the Moroccans. I want to say thank you to all the players because they had a very big game, we played against a big team of Nigeria with big players, tactically very good. So, I think the team did a great job and we won this game," Bounou said.

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The 34-year-old also touched on the pressure of the responsibility placed on goalkeepers during penalties.

"Yeah, actually there is pressure but you face this pressure upfront and do your job. Sometimes the job is good, other times not, so we are happy today because it was good and we won," he added.

Bounou said that the game against Senegal will be tough to call given both team’s stature on the African continent. 

"Yeah, Senegal is a very big team, we are very happy to play this game against a brother country. As a brother, all the players are our friends and we are happy to play this game because Senegal is a big team, Morocco also, so it will be a very big final."