SportsMoneyReal Madrid Star Brahim Diaz Misses Crazy Panenka Penalty In AFCON Final (VIDEO)

ByTom Sanderson,

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Tom Sanderson has been primarily based in Barcelona since 2019.Follow AuthorJan 18, 2026, 04:35pm ESTJan 18, 2026, 04:59pm EST

Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz fired off a ridiculous panenka penalty attempt in the Africa Cup of Nations final deep into stoppage time, with his miss in turn denying Morocco the chance to win the tournament against Senegal after chaotic scenes played out in Rabat.AFP via Getty Images

Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz fired off a ridiculous panenka penalty attempt deep into stoppage time in the Africa Cup of Nations final deep into stoppage time.

As a consequence, his miss in turn denied Morocco the chance to win the tournament against Senegal in regular time, after chaotic scenes played out in Rabat.

The forward had been his country’s star player until now, and led the continental competition’s scoring ranks ahead of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah with five strikes.

During the final as it ran into stoppage time, Senegal were denied a potential winner after it was deemed there had been a push on Achraf Hakimi in the Morocco box.

Then at the other end shortly after, Diaz was brought down in the area as a corner came in, and several members of the Senegal team headed off the pitch and down the tunnel in protest when the referee awarded a penalty.

After a good 16 minutes of chaotic scenes and arguments, Sadio Mane brought his teammates back onto the pitch.

When the spot kick was finally taken, though, in the 114th minute, Brahim missed his opportunity to become an eternal hero.

Rather than picking a corner, the attacker went for a panenka down the middle which has been widely ridiculed for the way it was easily saved by former Chelsea shotstopper Edouard Mendy.

As the final whistle of regular time was blown, the Real Madrid star had to be consoled by teammates and staff while clearly upset.

To add insult to injury, Papa Gueye then scored to put Senegal 1-0 up just four minutes into extra time as part of a lead that was maintained to crown his team champions.

Famously choosing to represent Morocco over Spain, after getting tired of waiting for another senior call up from the latter’s national team head coach Luis de la Fuente, Brahim still deserves respect from the Atlas Lions’ fans even though they didn’t win the tournament.

Without his goals, the host nation would have never reached the final, and the Real Madrid number 21 gave them memories to last a lifetime throughout this edition of the AFCON.