Morocco and Spain were yet to find the net after 120 minutes of play in Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup Round of 16 fixture at the Education City Stadium, forcing the game into a penalty shootout.
Yassine Bounou, goalkeeper of the Atlas Lions, has a slight edge over his Spanish counterpart Unai Simon when it comes to the number of penalties saved in their respective careers.
While Bono - as he is more often called - has a save percentage of 26 when a shot is taken from the spot, Simon’s figures read 21.4 per cent.
The Moroccan ‘keeper is the more experienced of the two, having stood as custodian for 50 penalties, compared to Simon’s 28. While Bono has saved 13 efforts, Simon has blocked six.
Simon famously saved Brazil star Richarlison’s effort on goal during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, the Selecao Canarinho went on to beat the Spaniards 2-1 in that fixture.
Sevilla’s Bono, meanwhile, registered a memorable save against Valencia’s Jose Gaya in a penalty in the LaLiga earlier this season, helping his side to a 1-1 draw.
In 2022, Bono has stopped only two out of a total of seven shots from the spot. Simon has let past the only two penalties he had to defend this year.
Interestingly, this will be Morocco’s first-ever penalty shootout in the World Cup. However, it cannot be said that Spain has a clear advantage because La Furia Roja have one of the worst records when it comes to shootouts, with three defeats in four attempts. Its only win came in 2002, against the Republic of Ireland. In 2018, Spain went out in the round of 16, following a shocking defeat in a shootout against host Russia.
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