"The octopus Bouno" boosts Morocco's confidence.

Morocco is pinning its hopes on its goalkeeper "The Octopus" Yassine Bounou since his contribution to the remarkable journey in 2022, during which Morocco became the first Arab and African country to reach the World Cup semifinals, as it faces France again today, Thursday, but this time in the quarterfinals in Boston.

At that time, Bounou became famous for his statement in a press conference after reaching the semifinals when he addressed his coach Walid Regragui, expressing in a spontaneous way that the team entered the tournament to enjoy without pressure, and suddenly found himself making a historic achievement.

Less than four years later, the fans' favorite still clings to his humor, calmness, and focus, and remains one of the key pillars of a team that dreams of going further.

He said after reaching the quarterfinals: "We take each match one at a time, and in each one, we correct the mistakes we make and avoid repeating them in our desire to continue our journey."

And while the "Atlas Lions" have reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive time in another unprecedented achievement both Arab and continental, much of the credit goes to the former Sevilla goalkeeper and current Al-Hilal player, since the beginning of the tournament against Brazil (1-1), through the Netherlands (penalty shootout) in the Round of 32, up to Canada in the Round of 16.

Praise for the 35-year-old veteran did not take long to come, and it came from his teammate, Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui, who said: "Bounou kept us in the game with his amazing saves."

Canada, where the "Lions'" goalkeeper was born, surged from the start, earning three consecutive corners in the first five minutes, and three attempts on goal in the first 10 minutes, which Bounou thwarted against Stephen Eustáquio from a direct corner (5) and two one-on-ones against Jonathan David (5) and Tani Olawaseyi (10).

He kept a clean sheet for the second match in the current edition and the fifth in two consecutive editions, becoming the first Arab and African goalkeeper to achieve this in five matches across two consecutive finals.

A clean sheet is not something new for Bounou (95 international matches), as he achieved it this season with his team in 14 matches, and it was also his hallmark in five out of seven matches he played in the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Bounou was described by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary as the best Arab goalkeeper in history, stating in a television interview: "I tip my hat to Yassine Bounou, he is a world-class and great goalkeeper, and he deserves the recognition he gets."