Yassine Bounou, the Morocco goalkeeper, celebrated reaching 100 international caps in the colours of the Atlas Lions by taking part in the big 5-1 win over Niger on Friday evening at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, in the third round of the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Bono became the third player in the history of the Moroccan national team to reach 100 international matches, after Noureddine Naybet, who tops the list of most appearances with 115 matches, then Achraf Hakimi, who has reached 104 matches.

His centenary appearance was no mere celebration. The goalkeeper played a crucial part in protecting his country's lead, saving a 45th-minute penalty from Youssef Omar that would have hauled Niger level with Morocco ahead at the time 2-1.

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The penalty came after Mohamed Abdel Rahman had cut the deficit for Niger in the 41st minute, pouncing on an error by Bono as he came off his line.

Yet the veteran quickly atoned, keeping out the spot-kick before Achraf Hakimi slotted Morocco's third in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.

Across his career, Bono has saved 12 of the 60 penalties he has faced, a success rate of 20%.

He was superb on his centenary outing, denying five attempts on his goal to help Morocco to a 5-1 win and nine points at the top of Group One in the qualifiers.

Born on 5 April 1991 in the Canadian city of Montreal, the Al-Hilal star ranks among the finest goalkeepers in Moroccan football history.

Bono shone for his country at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, helping the Atlas Lions reach the semi-finals for the first time by any African or Arab nation. He also lifted the Europa League trophy with Sevilla in 2023.

En-Nesyri boosts his tally

Youssef En-Nesyri added to his international haul too, netting Morocco's fourth in the 77th minute from an Achraf Hakimi pass to take his tally to 26 goals for the national team.

Ahmed Faras leads the way with 36 goals for the Atlas Lions, followed by Salaheddine Bassir with 27, then En-Nesyri third on 26 and Hakim Ziyech fourth with 25.

A historic run for Morocco

Morocco also extended a remarkable record on home soil in qualifiers for major tournaments.

The result was their sixteenth straight home win in Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying matches, according to French network "stats foot", their best such run in this type of competition.

That figure caps the sharp improvement in Morocco's results over recent years, a side that has grown into a real force both across Africa and on the world stage.