Achraf Hakimi's waddle celebration for Morocco explained

The 2022 World Cup served up another big upset on Tuesday, as Morocco knocked out Spain to progress to the quarter finals.

The game finished 0-0 after extra time before the North African side won the penalty shootout, earning them a place in the next round and sparking mass celebrations.

One of the stars on the night was Achraf Hakimi. The 24-year-old has been a standout performer for Morocco all tournament and the Paris Saint Germain right back stepped up to take the deciding penalty.

Where others had faltered, he showed nerves of steel to place a chipped panenka penalty right down the middle and send his team through.

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The celebration, though, was just as eye-catching.

As he turned round to see his teammates running towards him in celebration, he proceeded to flick out his hands and waddle like a penguin.

The right back sent his side through from the penalty spotAlexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

But why did he decide to do his best impression of the animal after scoring the penalty?

It seems that the celebration was a tribute to Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who has made it his trademark over recent years. Waddle created the celebrations as a play on his surname, and it looks like Hakimi has adopted the dance too.

There’s added depth to the celebration, too.

Hakimi has previously celebrated with the penguin dance alongside PSG teammate Sergio Ramos. Ramos was left out of the Spanish squad and Hakimi previously tweeted that Ramos was “the best defender in the world” ahead of the tournament.

Hakimi took inspiration from WaddleEric Espada/Getty Images

It was also a seismic moment for Hakimi. The defender was born in Spain and came through the Real Madrid academy before declaring for Morocco and earning his first cap in 2016.

It’s the first time an African side has reached the quarter finals at the tournament since Ghana back in 2010.

Morocco will now play Portugal in the quarter finals on Saturday, and they’ve never had a better chance to go further in the competition.

So far, the side has beaten Belgium, Canada and Spain, and they’ve only conceded one goal in the entire tournament.

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