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Join on Telegram Rabat – FIFA has included Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in their list of nominees for the 2023 best goalkeeper award.
Bounou’s World Cup performances played a central role in his nomination, world football’s governing body said in a blogpost presenting the seven nominees.
“Bounou’s brilliance in Morocco’s history-making run to World Cup semi-finals represented a continuation of the form he has shown at club level,” FIFA said, recalling that FC Sevilla’s Moroccan goalkeeper achieved the Spanish league’s best defensive record in the 2021-22 season.
Bounou was awarded the Zamora trophy, given each season to the best goalkeeper in the Spanish top-flight league.
“A calm and assured presence as the last line of defence for club and country, Bounou’s performances in Qatar were described as ‘heroic’ by Morocco captain Romain Saiss,” FIFA’s blog post added.
Bounou was instrumental in the Moroccan Atlas Lions’ historic run at the 2022 World Cup. The team became the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals in the tournament’s history.
Read also: Yassine Bounou: Morocco’s Iron Wall Against Spain
Bounou kept a clean sheet in three games at the tournament, becoming the first African keeper to do so. The only goal conceded by the team prior to the defeat against France at the semi-finals was an own goal against Canada.
Most notably, the Sevilla shotstopper starred in Morocco’s round of 16 victory against Spain, saving two penalties during the decisive penalty shootout.
His historic performances in Qatar caught the attention of a number of elite European clubs, with reports that the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid might be interested in signing the Moroccan keeper.
FIFA’s list of nominees also included Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic and Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez, who shone alongside Bounou at the World Cup, with the latter contributing to his team’s victory in the final.
Other nominees included Liverpool’s Allison, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, and Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer.
