France, Dec. 30 -- Waiting for Achraf

His was an arrival eagerly anticipated. And it came in the 64th minute at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat. Achraf Hakimi, golden boy of Moroccan football, stepped onto the pitch amid raucous cheers from the partisans in the stands. Hakimi was injured on 4 November while playing for his club Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Luis Diaz chopped the poor lamb down just before half-time to leave Hakimi, who was celebrating his 27th birthday in tears on the deck. Restored, his smile was big and broad after the 3-0 victory over Zambia to take Morocco into the last-16.

Birthday boy

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