Morocco relying on Yassine Bounou’s safe hands at World Cup

RIYADH: Much will rest on the broad shoulders of Yassine Bounou when Morocco kick off their sixth World Cup appearance with a clash against Croatia at Qatar 2022 on Nov. 23.

The unassuming, hardworking goalkeeper, now one of Europe’s top shot stoppers, will be one of the African nation’s most trusted players in Doha.

But his career with the Atlas Lions almost never happened.

Bounou, or Bono as he is nicknamed, was eligible to play for Canada, his country of birth, but decided in 2011 to play for Morocco at the request of coach Rachid Taoussi.

Having represented the under-20s at the 2012 Olympics in London, he made the senior squad in 2013 and has been there ever since. Yet it took a while to establish himself as a regular No. 1, both at international and club level.

Following the Olympics, Bounou left Wydad Casablanca for Spain and Atletico Madrid’s reserves.

His rise to the top would not be an easy one, and he reportedly faced some difficulties in adapting to the lifestyle and mentality in Spain and had to double his efforts to get along with his teammates and settle in a new culture.

Standing in his way and first-team opportunities at Atletico Madrid was one Thibaut Courtois, but the young Moroccan persevered and thanks to a series of loan and permanent moves, would eventually make his mark in Spanish football.

After a loan spell at Zaragoza, he left Atletico for Catalan club Girona, where he played 83 La Liga matches between 2016 and 2019.

He was part of Morocco’s squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia though he once again had to be content with watching from the bench.

A year later, however, at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, he shone by keeping two clean sheets in the group stages as Herve