Read for 5 minutes14 Jun 2026 09:14 AM IST
By Shubhaditya Bose
Between receiving Nausair Majroui’s pass and laying the ball off for Ismail Saibari, Brahim Diaz had a little over two seconds. It was still enough for exactly three episodes of action. First came the touch of his right foot pad. Then two sharp adjustments to his left before Lucas Paqueta and Douglas Santos could close him down. Finally, a pass, threaded between Gabriel Magalhès and Marquinhos, sent Saibari through to Alison Baker’s goal. The pass sent Saibari through and Morocco scored in the 21st minute.
Six months ago, he was given more time to make an even bigger impact. Too long, maybe. From the time he was brought down inside the box to the penalty kick against Senegal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, Diaz had fifteen minutes. During those fifteen minutes, he saw the opposition coach, Pape Thiaw, walk his players off the field in a symbolic gesture of protest, before Sadio Mane persuaded his teammates to return.
Le timing de la passe de Brahim Diaz la course de Saibari et le calme devant le goal.
Made in Morocco! 🇲🇦👏 pic.twitter.com/XShxoi6qxz
— FASTER X 🇲🇦🪢 (@FASTER1107) 14 June 2026
Until then, fines were not much of a concern. He had converted five of the six before him. The lone mistake didn’t matter: his team won that match 3-0. Yet facing the biggest kick of his career, Diaz chose not to play the percentage. He chose not to play it safe. He chose Panenka.
A minute after Morocco’s 40-year wait for an AFCON title ended, he tried to be adventurous. and missed Edward Mendy barely had to move. The Senegalese goalkeeper, rooted to the spot, easily collected the ball and poked the effort away.
The trophy would eventually be awarded to Morocco after an appeal, but before the win, Diaz experienced the worst kind of vitriol.
A new term emerged online: “brahimka”. Anti Panenka. A spectacular failure. Had this defamation been confined to the social media, this would not have been a rare occurrence. But it didn’t happen. Diaz received very little protection from home. Walid Regragui, the former manager, opined that the delay was not an excuse for a poor shot. Vice-captain Romain Saiss said Diaz could have easily been a hero for Morocco, but instead he wanted to be a superhero. A Moroccan daily called the shot “indescribably careless”.
Criticism spread beyond Morocco. Hoffenheim shared a clip of their forward Tim Lemperle’s goal from Panenka, calling it a “failed Brahimka”. Even Antonin Panenka, the former Czech footballer after whom the Dink penalty is named, expressed his disapproval: “It took me two years to take that penalty, training every day. I watched the AFCON final and I’m sure the player, Brahim, didn’t train as hard as he should have to take that penalty.”
Failed Brahmika 🥀🥀🥀 pic.twitter.com/HA8BGy2ExH
— TSG Hoffenheim (@tsghoffenheim) 30 January 2026
Its results were not small. Regragui, the only coach to lead an African country to the World Cup semi-finals, had to resign. Diaz had to issue a public apology, admitting that Miss’s injuries would not heal easily. It was further complicated by the fact that Diaz had spent several years at Real Madrid before making his international debut in Morocco. Choice was a statement of belonging. Miss threatens to make a punchline.
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Panenka veers between genius and stupidity depending on the outcome. In the 2015 Copa America, he was called one of the coldest penalties ever taken, as was Alexis Sánchez in the big game. When it doesn’t, a new word is created.
À quel moment il ya abandon si le penalty est tiré 🤣😂😂
Tiré et raté 🤪🤣 pic.twitter.com/B8xJ6bjEMx— Kani Sadam 🌶🌶🌶 (@sachachav) 26 March 2026
What players of Diaz’s nature always stick to is his swagger. An innate tendency to the imagination rather than the simple. Fantasy, trying to thread a pass between a Premier League winner and a Champions League winner. Fantasy, such as being the only player out of 22 starters to pick a difficult pass and still have a 100% pass completion rate. Fantasy football creates assists like Diaz.
After the AFCON defeat, Diaz wrote: “I will keep going until one day I will give you all this love back and be a source of pride for my Moroccan people.” A World Cup draw does not equate to a major title. Yet against the most successful nation in World Cup history, Diaz’s assist would have given the Moroccans a sense of pride.
For him, it’s about righting wrongs one bold pass at a time.