Mbappe congratulates Hakimi as he knocks country of his birth out of World Cup

talksport.com, 6 December 2022, 19:10

Achraf Hakimi was the coolest man in the stadium as he sent Morocco through to the World Cup quarter-final with an audacious Panenka penalty.

Morocco beat Spain 3-0 on spot-kicks, after their match had finished 0-0 in a two-hour stalemate.

Things could have been so much different for Hakimi as he could have been lining-up for Spain at this tournament.

He was born in Madrid, to Moroccan parents, and that made him eligible to play for both nations.

However, there was only one nation that he had his heart set on.

"Yes, there were moments in youth. There were contacts, I went to the Spanish national team also to try," Hakimi told Marca ahead of the Round of 16.

"I was in Las Rozas for a couple of days and I saw that it was not the right place for me, I did not feel at home.

"It was not for anything in particular, but for what I felt, because it was not what I had at home, which is the Arab culture, being Moroccan. I wanted to be here."

The Paris Saint-Germain right-back has been one of the stars of the tournament so far as Morocco became just the fourth African country to reach the quarter-finals of a World Cup.

Hakimi's PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe was quick to congratulate the defender.

He tweeted: "ACHRAF HAKIMI." Along with the penguin, heart hands and crown emojis.

The penguin was in reference to the celebration he did after netting the audacious Panenka that sent his country through.

Read full version: https://talksport.com/football/1269509/kylian-mbappe-psg-achraf-hakimi-spain-morocco/

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Mbappe congratulates Hakimi as he knocks country of his birth out of World Cup

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