Morocco pulled off one of the shocks of the World Cup so far by defeating Spain in penalties to advance to the quarter-finals.
And their man of the moment was Achraf Hakimi.
The PSG right-back stepped up to take the deciding penalty against the European giants and with the weight of a nation on his shoulders he had nerves of steel.
Staring Spanish keeper Unai Simon in the eyes he produced a delicious panenka penalty to send Morocco through in an iconic World Cup moment.
Hakimi grew up on the streets of Madrid before entering Real’s academy.
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He could’ve played for Spain but instead chose to play for the country of his parent’s nationality in Morocco.
His parents played a significant part in his climb as a footballer, sacrificing much of their life in order for Achraf to succeed in his.
Hakimi has stated in the past that his entire footballing career is dedicated to his mother and father, and that much was obvious after he scored the decisive penalty.
He went straight over to his mother, as he has done in the past, and celebrated with her in incredibly wholesome scenes.
It doesn’t get any more real than that.
As he has said in the past, via Bundesliga: “My mother cleaned the houses and my father was a street vendor. We come from a modest family that struggled to earn a living. Today I fight every day for them. They sacrificed themselves for me.”
The 24-year-old has already played for many of the top clubs in the world and is considered one of the best right-backs on Earth.
With a resume that includes PSG, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Real Madrid it’s clear that his talent is immense.
Fans think that Hakimi also paid tribute to his teammate Sergio Ramos with a ‘waddle’ celebration following his converted penalty kick.
The 'waddle' celebration, has become a viral trend by Jaylen Waddle who performs the same move after scoring touchdowns for Miami Dolphins.
It’s a celebration he and Ramos do together for the French side, and fans believe it was a sly dig at Luis Enrique for not picking the defender in his World Cup squad.
One Twitter user wrote: "With his Panenka, Hakimi not only knocked Spain out of the World Cup, but he also celebrated like Sergio Ramos. A suitable response to Enrique, who did not select Ramos despite the fact that he started all of PSG's games and was undefeated in all of them."
A second tweeted: "Born and raised in Madrid, called Sergio Ramos the best defender itw after he was omitted from Spain's World Cup squad and went on to score Ramos' signature Panenka & do his special celebration after knocking Spain out..."
A third added: "No way not only did Hakimi knocked out Spain and he also done a tribute to Sergio Ramos."
Topics: Spain, Achraf Hakimi, Football World Cup, Qatar
Jayden Collins