Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, better known as Bono, has revealed that a painkilling injection caused him to miss the game against Belgium at the Qatar 2022 World Cup – despite having lined up for the national anthem before kick-off.

After the match head coach Walid Regragui told reporters that Bono “didn’t feel well”, but Bono has finally explained the mystery in full.

“The first game against Croatia, I kicked one of their players,” he told BBC World Service Sport.

“To arrive good to the game (against Belgium) we had to put an injection for the pain.”

Team doctor warned Bono that the effects of the painkiller would last for between 60 and 90 minutes, so Bono decided to do his warm-up first and then have the injection shortly before kick-off.

He said: “I went in the tunnel with the two teams, I was feeling very bad, and I spoke with the captain, Romain Saiss, and said ‘I’m not feeling good.'”

Bono was so concerned that he approached referee Cesar Ramos to check on the rules about replacing a player after the anthems had been sung.

Bono said: “He said, ‘No problem. You can do the anthem and after you can go out.'”

Having been watched by millions singing the anthem, Bono decided he could not risk taking part in the match.

“It was very difficult for me because everybody sees you and after you disappear,” he joked.

“I went to a clinic inside the stadium. I was feeling better and I saw the second half.

“It was a strange moment because I wanted to play the games. Maybe if you lose you will not play more at the World Cup, but we won and after everything it was OK.”

Journey to the semi-finals

Goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal earned Morocco a famous 2-0 win against Belgium.

Four days later Bono was back in goal for the 2-1 victory over Canada which clinched qualification for the knockout stages, the first time Morocco had made it out of their World Cup group since 1986.

They went on to become the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.

Bono played a key part, particularly when saving two penalties in the last-16 shootout against Spain, the country where he plays his club football with Sevilla.

“Winning on penalties, it was very good sensation. The Moroccan people were very happy,” he said.

“It was difficult because, emotionally, you play in Spain, so you play against a lot of players you know, and there are a lot of friends of mine from Spain.”

Bono kept his third clean sheet in four matches as Morocco beat Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals, but they lost 2-0 to France in the semis.

“When we arrived against France people were thinking about the final so, after the game, it was very sad,” he said.

“But after the World Cup (we knew) it was a big tournament for us, and I think the team showed a very good image from Morocco.

“Before the competition, we had in our mind that we wanted to do more than three (group) games. But we never imagined that we could go until the semi-final.

“We showed that it’s possible and in the next World Cups, I’m sure that other African teams can do the same. It was an incredible experience.”

Regragui’s impact

While Bono was keeping goals out at one end of the pitch, his Sevilla team-mate Youssef En-Nesyri was scoring at the other, becoming the first Moroccan to find the target at two World Cup tournaments.

The pair have played an important role in helping Sevilla reach this season’s Europa League final where they will face Roma, having seen off another Italian side, Juventus, in the semi-finals.

But Bono says the impact of Regragui was crucial in helping the team exceed expectations.

“He knows the mentality of the Moroccan player – the Moroccan player who grow up in Europe and the Moroccan player born in Morocco,” said Bono.

Regragui, a former Morocco international, took over in August last year, less than three months before the World Cup.

“It had a big impact,” said Bono. “Tactically, the team understood very well the idea and it’s because there is good talent too in the team. It was a perfect combination.”