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Finishing Touch Slips: Morocco's 1-1 AFCON 2025 Draw with Mali Sparks Bono's Lament

27 December 2025

Finishing Touch Slips: Morocco's 1-1 AFCON 2025 Draw with Mali Sparks Bono's Lament
Yassine Bono after Morocco's 1-1 draw with Mali in AFCON 2025.

Post-match reflections: Bono on the finishing touch

Morocco's goalkeeper Yassine Bounou said his side missed the final touch against Mali, a lapse that helped end the match in a 1-1 draw. The Atlas Lions opened AFCON in their own country with a 2-0 win over Comoros, before drawing Mali 1-1.

He added after the game, "We played a great game against Mali, but we missed the final touch."

Looking ahead: Morocco's next group game

Morocco will now focus on the final group game against Zambia to decide qualification to the knockout stage. He also thanked Moroccan fans for their support. "We feel the responsibility and will be at our best to please the Atlas Lions supporters," he said.

The Atlas Lions sit in Group A with Comoros, Mali and Zambia, and under coach Walid Regragui they aim to lift Africa's crown for the first time since 1976.

We won’t go into details about social media clips, but the vibe remains: finishing is the tricky part, even for a world-class keeper.

Context: AFCON 2025 context

Morocco's campaign is set against a strong group stage, with hopes of lifting the AFCON trophy in front of a home crowd. The team seeks to deliver a knockout-stage run that matches the nation’s football history.

Punchline 1: If finishing were a shooting drill, Morocco would still be warming up—great saves, but the target keeps moving.

Punchline 2: Don’t blame Bono; sometimes even the best gloves forget their grip when the net is in the way. We’ll blame the post for today’s miss.

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Emma Amme

I am Emma Amme, an English sports journalist born in 1998. Passionate about astronomy, contemporary dance, and handcrafted woodworking, I share my sensitive view of sports.

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