World Cup fans' hearts melt after Morocco hero goalie Bono's tiny son mistakes mic for ice cream

'So happy for… the team, for the result, and congratulations to all Moroccan people,' said Morocco's hero goalie Yassine Bounou in a post-match interview, reacting with apparent surprise when his son leant forward to lick the microphone.
2 min read
15 December, 2022
Morocco's Yassine Bounou was named player of the match for his performance against Portugal on Saturday [ANP/Getty-file photo]

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou's young son was called "supremely adorable" after attempting to lick a microphone like an ice cream during an interview with his dad that recently re-emerged.

The Atlas Lions continued their historic Qatar World Cup run after a 1–0 win against Portugal this weekend before being defeated by France in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Bounou, 31, often called "Bono", was named player of the match for his performance against Portugal on Saturday after managing to follow up his goalkeeping heroics against Spain with a clean sheet.

"So happy for… the team, for the result, and congratulations to all Moroccan people," Bounou said in the interview, reacting with surprise when his son leant forward to lick the microphone.

Asked who he would give his player of the match award to if he could pick any teammate, Bounou began: "To, to," before his son again moved to lick the mic.

Bounou turned to the child and gave him a heartwarming squeeze of the cheeks.

The official FIFA World Cup Twitter account, which uploaded the video on Wednesday, said Bounou's son believed the microphone was an ice cream, calling this "supremely adorable".

"EVERYTHING about this Moroccan team is touching, sincere, true," said one Twitter user.

"The players, the children, the mothers, they write history."

Morocco won the hearts of football fans across the world due to their heroic performances and the affection players showed their mothers after games.

On Wednesday evening, Morocco faced off against France, hoping to take their historic run in football's greatest competition one step further by making the finals.

MENA
Live Story

Sadly for fans across the Arab world and Africa, Morocco were unable to vanquish Les Bleus, losing 2–0, although the Atlas Lions went out with their heads held high, generally perceived to be the better team.

France will now face Argentina on Sunday, hoping to deprive Lionel Messi of his first World Cup title in what will be his last cap at any edition of the tournament.

But Morocco are not out of action yet and will compete for third place against Croatia on Saturday.