Vinicius stirs with 'we all love CR7' post after Bafana Bafana emulated Cristiano Ronaldo at AFCON
Vinicius Junior, a winger for Real Madrid, created a stir on social media when he made a goal celebration reference a la Cristiano Ronaldo during South Africa’s 2023 AFCON Round of 16 victory over Morocco. One of the most surprising upsets of the competition was that Bafana Bafana, the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winner, defeated the Atlas Lions to go to the quarterfinals.
According to Eurosport, Hugo Broos’ team eliminated the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists, continuing their trend of surpassing expectations even though they were the underdogs. Morocco’s participation in the competition ended with goals from Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena in the second half, as another top-ranked team was eliminated.
According to Goal.com, after Achraf Hakimi missed a penalty kick in the 85th minute, Mokoena’s celebration after scoring a skillful free kick went viral on social media. The renowned “sleep” celebration made famous by Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was the choice made by the South African.
Accompanied by his teammates, the party evolved into a visually stunning performance that drew the attention of photojournalists at San Pedro’s Laurent Pokou Stadium and flooded social media with pictures. Vinicius, who presently sports Ronaldo’s recognizable No. 7 shirt at Real Madrid, voiced his respect for the now-Al-Nassr captain in response to the viral photographs.
