Diaz will ‘have nightmares’ over ‘Panenka’ failure

It was a moment that will endure Brahim Diaz’s haunting for the rest of his life.

After winning a penalty in the eighth minute of the second-half added time with the goalless Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal, the winger had a chance to immortalize his name in Moroccan folklore.

His nation’s 50-year wait to win the Afcon trophy was a golden opportunity.

Diaz tried a “Panenka” chipped penalty, whose five goals had brought the hosts to the final. It had a backseat. Absolutely not. Senegal’s goalkeeper Edouard Mendy held his ground and caught the ball in a humiliatingly simple manner.

The former Manchester City player and top scorer of the tournament appeared devastated as his actions began to become apparent. Later, after being substituted in extra time, television cameras caught him on the Morocco bench, causing him to shed tears.

After the majority of Senegal’s players, including Mendy, marched off the pitch in protest of the penalty’s award, the Real Madrid attacker was forced to wait around 17 minutes to take the kick.

Walid Regragui, Morocco manager, said: “He had a lot of time before he took the penalty, which must have disturbed him.”

“But what happened cannot be changed,” he continued. He made the decision to take the penalty in that manner. Now is the time to look forward.

Diaz’s penalty ended up being his final regular kick.

The winner came in four minutes of extra time, leaving Diaz and his Morocco team-mates devastated.

Former Morocco international Hassan Kachloul stated during the coverage of the match that “I think Brahim Diaz will have a lot of nightmares in the coming days.”

With five goals in this tournament, Ibrahim Diaz threw away all of his glorious moments, according to former Nigerian international Daniel Amokachi.

And former Nigeria midfielder Jon Obi Mikel remarked that the miss “spoils everything Brahim Diaz has done well in this tournament.”

He continued, “He is going to be devastated.” For weeks or months, he will be put to the test for this.

At the end of the second half, Diaz El Hadji Malick Diouf appeared to drag Diaz to the ground by his neck, which left him goalless.

The video assistant referee directed Jean-Jacques Ndala, a DR Congo referee, to the penalty spot in the 98th minute after a quick check.

Head coach Pape Thiaw tried to usher his team off the field, but several Senegal players left for the dressing room after the team’s decision to reject a Senegal goal in the 93rd minute.

Sadio Mane, a former Liverpool striker, continued on the field and attempted to motivate his Senegal teammates to return.

Diaz saw Mendy save his timid attempt when the penalty was finally awarded in the 114th minute.

The first Panenka penalty was attempted the year Morocco won the previous competition.

West Germany won the most famous penalty kick ever to defeat Czechoslovakia in the Euro 1976 final. Antonin Panenka, a midfielder, waited for the goalkeeper to dive before casually slamming the ball into the middle of the goal during the shootout.

The “Panenka” has been used on numerous occasions since the original, and it has been proven to be a legitimate, albeit high-risk tactic by some of the biggest names.

In the 2006 World Cup final, Zinedine Zidane defeated Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon with an effort that hit the crossbar.

Italy defeated England on penalties in the Euro 2012 quarter-final with the help of Andrea Pirlo Cooly. With the same tournament’s semi-final defeat to Portugal, Sergio Ramos followed suit.

It was pulled off by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Neymar, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

However, Diaz is just one of the players who have witnessed their attempt to fail on the biggest stage of sport. Before Panenka’s debut, Zidane and Pirlo both missed out on the stage. Peter Crouch, Raheem Sterling, and Sergio Aguero have all tried and failed.

Caoimhin Kelleher, the goalkeeper for Brentford, made a quick Premier League debut against Sunderland at the end of January.