Morocco were about to go down in the scoreboard vs. France in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup. That until goalkeeper Yassine Bono made himself a giant and stopped Kylian Mbappe‘s penalty to keep things level.
In a tournament were not too many goalkeepers have shined above the others, Yassine Bono is one of the few that really has shown a top form throughout the 2026 World Cup. The guy, at times, looks unbeatable as France have come to know in this matchup. In fact, Mbappe joined Karim Benzema in an unwanted World Cup list with this penalty miss.
Bono, in the first half alone, already had four world-class saves and is the only reason why France haven’t been able to score. However, it’s also an alert on Morocco, that have been dominated and are needing their goalkeeper to play Superman to not go down. What it’s clear is that Bono will definitely have a say on whether France win, tie, or lose to Morocco.
Bono is not afraid of the big stage
While Bono didn’t win the Golden Glove in the 2022 World Cup (losing to Emiliano Martinez who won the tournament), Bono arguably was the best GK in that tournament. Martinez had clutch moments, but overall, Bono was the rising star.
Then, in the 2025 Club World Cup, Bono once again shone for Al Hilal. Now, in 2026, Morocco are relying once again on Bono to make miracles. Bono is also elite when it comes to saving penalties as a whole, as proven in the Round of 32 vs. the Netherlands. Simply put, Bono is one of the globe’s best shot-stoppers.
Mbappe’s record taking penalties
Mbappe is an average penalty shooter. Per OptaJoe, the average effectiveness of penalty shooters is between 78% and 82%. Mbappe has taken 81 penalties (excluding shootouts), missing 16 and scoring 65. Hence, Mbappe has an 80.25% of effectiveness while shooting pens.
However, prior to this one saved by Bono, Mbappe was on a nine-scored-penalty streak. That includes one vs. Paraguay in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Mbappe is also looking at the Golden Boot of this World Cup, where he trails Messi by one goal.
