Brahim Díaz, the Moroccan forward who had been on fire all tournament long, ended up with nothing but heartbreak and tears in the penalty shootout of the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) final against Senegal. His Panenka-style penalty was saved by Édouard Mendy of Senegal, a move that will forever be etched as a moment of pure heartbreak for Díaz.
It's natural to wonder what went through Díaz's mind when he knew his moment had arrived. Had the Senegal goalkeeper been expecting it? Did some deal have been made between him and the Senegal camp to persuade them to return to the field after they had left in protest, leaving 15 minutes of delay before the penalty shootout could commence? These questions still haunt Díaz.
While Díaz is trying to put his heartbreak behind him, it's clear he has a lot to live up to. A golden boot winner with five goals, his tournament will be remembered for one fateful moment when he failed to deliver in the decisive penalty shootout. And that's all because of a Panenka.
Brahim Díaz's coach, Walid Regragui, was unsympathetic about the incident. He stopped the game briefly with 10 minutes left in the match, which undoubtedly made it more difficult for Díaz to stay focused and calm during his penalty attempt.
The Moroccan fans were not pleased with Díaz's performance. Newspapers like Al Mountakhab described his penalty as "very bad", while others condemned Regragui's tactics as 'inexplicable'. It was indeed a cruel game that left millions of Moroccans feeling regretful and disappointed.
Brahim Díaz has now been given the chance to show that one moment does not define him.
It's natural to wonder what went through Díaz's mind when he knew his moment had arrived. Had the Senegal goalkeeper been expecting it? Did some deal have been made between him and the Senegal camp to persuade them to return to the field after they had left in protest, leaving 15 minutes of delay before the penalty shootout could commence? These questions still haunt Díaz.
While Díaz is trying to put his heartbreak behind him, it's clear he has a lot to live up to. A golden boot winner with five goals, his tournament will be remembered for one fateful moment when he failed to deliver in the decisive penalty shootout. And that's all because of a Panenka.
Brahim Díaz's coach, Walid Regragui, was unsympathetic about the incident. He stopped the game briefly with 10 minutes left in the match, which undoubtedly made it more difficult for Díaz to stay focused and calm during his penalty attempt.
The Moroccan fans were not pleased with Díaz's performance. Newspapers like Al Mountakhab described his penalty as "very bad", while others condemned Regragui's tactics as 'inexplicable'. It was indeed a cruel game that left millions of Moroccans feeling regretful and disappointed.
Brahim Díaz has now been given the chance to show that one moment does not define him.
This penalty shootout is like a puzzle, you know? 
A Panenka-style shot that's meant to be so precise... but it gets blocked by the goalkeeper 
! Did Díaz think it was going in? Did he doubt himself for a split second? 
. And to make matters worse, Regragui's decision to stop the game briefly before the penalty shootout was just too much 
.
! He needs to remind himself that one moment of failure doesn't define him as a player or a person 
. And who knows, maybe this is just the wake-up call he needed 
.
Only time (and his next game) will tell 
he was just a minute away from winning everything for Morocco 
but it's all about one mistake. I think Regragui made some bad calls during the game though, stopping the match with 10 minutes to go was crazy 
, gave Díaz no chance at all. And yeah, that penalty save by Mendy will be etched in his memory forever 
. He just needs to bounce back from this and show everyone what he's capable of again 
anyway, u gotta feel for diaz, he gave it his all but just couldn't get it done. maybe next time 
I feel so bad for Brahim Díaz, the poor guy just had his heart ripped out on the biggest stage! 
His Panenka-style penalty attempt is etched in my memory forever - it was like time stood still and all he could think of was "what if?" 
I'm sure it's tough for Díaz to shake off this defeat and prove himself all over again, but I've got faith in him - he's proven himself as a golden boot winner with those five goals, after all! 
but Mendy just batted it away and Díaz was left standing there, tears streaming down his face 
and now all Moroccans are probably still reeling from that heartbreak 
. he's still a superstar after one bad penalty shootout. and let's be real, that panenka move was EPIC 
even if it didn't end in victory 
. He'll learn from his mistake and come back stronger. Fingers crossed for the young Moroccan! 
but brahim diz is still gonna bounce back from this, he's already proven himself as one of africa's top players