2022 World Cup: Spain penalty saves needed 'a little bit of luck' - Morocco's Bounou

• Bounou stopped two penalties vs Spain
• The victory set up clash against Portugal
• Morocco only African team World Cup QFs

WHAT HAPPENED? The 31-year-old Sevilla custodian produced two great saves to deny Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets from the penalty spot.

Pablo Sarabia's strike hit the post as the Atlas Lions progressed to the quarter-finals after a penalty shoot-out, following a 0-0 draw at the end of extra time.

Bounou has talked after the heroics which saw the North Africans continue their fine run in the global competition.

WHAT DID HE SAY?: "You know penalties, it's a little bit of intuition, a little bit of luck," Bounou told beIN Sports as quoted by SuperSport.

"We won, that's the most important thing. Hats off to the whole team, they did the job, it was incredible.

"It's not easy to stay focused for 120 minutes, against a Spanish team that dominates the ball well, who has possession. When you live moments like this, sometimes it's hard to realise it. We will try to avoid the noise around us, stay focused on ourselves, on our job, our recovery."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Atlas Lions finished their group-stage matches without suffering defeat. They started with a 0-0 draw against Croatia, and stunned Belgium 2-0 before defeating Canada 2-1.

WHAT NEXT FOR BOUNOU? He will be expected to start in goal when the Atlas Lions take on Portugal in the last eight fixture at Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday.