Yassine Bounou stops three Spain penalties as Morocco advances at World Cup

Yassine Bounou stopped three Spain penalties after making just one save over 120 minutes of Morocco’s 0-0 (3-0 pens) win in the World Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.

Achraf Hakimi sealed the penalties when he joined Abdelhamid Sabiri and Hakim Ziyech in converting his chance — Unai Simon did stop Badr Banoune’s attempt — and Morocco sealed a place in the quarterfinals versus the winner of Portugal vs Switzerland. The Atlas Lions are the first World Cup quarterfinalist since Ghana beat the United States in the 2010 Round of 16.

Morocco has been a pleasant surprise at this tournament, winning Group F in unbeaten fashion. They have a talented core and their relatively new head coach Walid Regragui has done a superb job to knit them together as a unit. They have been so tough to break down.

Luis Enrique’s Spain started the World Cup in stunning fashion with that 7-0 win against Costa Rica but their performances in a draw against Germany and a defeat against Japan left a lot to be desired. The Group E runners-up will lament letting 77 percent possession and a 13-6 shot advantage go for naught as Sergio Busquets, Carlos Soler, and Pablo Sarabia were all saved by Sevilla backstop Bounou.