Rabat – Eduardo Dominguez, the fitness coach of Morocco’s national team, has revealed how deeply Brahim Diaz was affected after missing his penalty in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final. Diaz chose a “panenka” style kick, but it failed, leaving him devastated.
Dominguez told El Larguero that the moment was “so intense and painful that I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
🇲🇦 🇪🇸 Eduardo Domínguez, preparador físico de Marruecos, en #ElLarguero | @edidomin
😱 “No le deseo ni al peor de mis enemigos por lo que ha pasado Brahim”
😰 “En la última conversación que tengo con él cuando nos despedidos estaba muy AFECTADO” pic.twitter.com/VQhz7fl9LB
— El Larguero (@ellarguero) February 21, 2026
He explained that after the match, players quickly retreated to their rooms, overwhelmed by confusion and silence. “Nobody knew what would happen next,” he said. His last memory of Diaz was at the airport, where the player was visibly shaken and emotional.
The coach stressed that in such moments, words offer little comfort. “There’s not much you can say to someone carrying that weight in his mind,” Dominguez admitted.
Diaz penalty
Brahim Diaz’s missed penalty became one of the defining images of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final. Morocco had battled through the tournament, with Diaz shining as their standout player. He scored five goals and carried the team to their first final since 2004.
The penalty was Morocco’s chance to end a 50‑year wait for the title, last won in 1976. Diaz’s choice in the Panenka, a delicate and risky technique, ultimately backfired. The miss turned into heartbreak for a nation that had believed this was their time.
Yet the miss did not erase Diaz’s reputation. He had been Morocco’s star, scoring five goals and delivering in key matches.
His form made him one of the tournament’s best players. Morocco’s unbeaten run under Walid Regragui added even more weight to the final, as the team had gone 32 matches without defeat before that night.
The penalty, therefore, became the cruel end to a campaign that had promised history.
More than just the heartbreak from the penalty miss, however, the final will also be unfortunately remembered for the chaos invoked by the Senegalese team for walking off the pitch after the VAR-verified penalty was called. The subsequent vandalism invoked by Senegalese fans continues to make headlines, as Moroccan courts recently delivered the verdicts for those who were detained from that night.
The 18 arrested supporters received prison sentences ranging from 3 months to 1 year, while CAF sanctioned Senegalese head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw a five-match suspension and a $100,000 fine.
Read also : Inventor of the Panenka Explains Why Diaz Missed AFCON Final Penalty
