Morocco football star Achrif Hakimi channelled his inner Jaylen Waddle after performing his celebration at the World Cup. The North African side made history by reaching their first quarter-final at the prestigious event as they decisively beat Spain 3-0 on penalties after a 0-0 draw at the Education City Stadium in Qatar.
Hakimi, 24, who was born in Spain, scored the winning paneka penalty which sent Moroccan fans into pandemonium as their world cup fairytale continues. He replicated the trademark celebration of the Miami Dolphins wide receiver by doing his best penguin dance as he turned in the direction of his delighted team-mates who ran to embrace him.
French superstar Kylian Mbappe, who plays with Hakimi at Ligue 1 side PSG, tweeted a penguin emoji following the conclusion of Tuesday's match, confirming the right-back was indeed performing the celebration made famous by the NFL star. The 24-year-old started doing the waddle after a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13 of last year. After that, it began to stick and now it has gone viral.
Antoine Griezmann also performed the celebration when he believed he scored a last gasp equaliser for France in their final group match for Tunisia - only for it to be ruled out by VAR. There is also another reason for Hakimi’s goal celebration yesterday which is in reference to PSG team-mate Sergio Ramos.
Hakimi’s penalty not only knocked Spain out of the World Cup, but he also repeated the celebration which he did with the Spanish legend after they’d scored a goal while playing for the Parisians. Furthermore, it was possibly a response to Spain’s coach Luis Enrique, who left the 2010 World Cup winner out of the squad to go to Qatar.
Having previously been a member of Real Madrid ’s academy, Hakimi had seen the iconic centre-back play at the highest level for several years and has the utmost respect for him. Morocco are the first African team to reach the last eight of the World Cup since Ghana in 2010 and are the only team not from Europe or South American left in this year’s competition.
After the match, Morocco manager Walid Regragui said: "It is a tremendous achievement and they were all patched up, they all showed tremendous determination. We knew we had tremendous support behind us and we drew from that the energy to give that performance tonight.”
He added: "[Spain are] one of the best teams in the world, if not the best. We couldn't play too high up the pitch because that was what they wanted us to do. We were patient and knew if we got there we had a chance with one of the best goalkeepers in the world. We fought for it."
In the last eight, Morocco will face a tough test against a rampant Portugal side who dispatched Switzerland with an overwhelming 6-0 victory at the Lusail Stadium last night.
