Union Saint-Jean – Monaco in the Coupe de France: “Embolo? He wanted to fake me like a kid!” Fawzi Rabyi, hero of the match with two penalties saved

“I had trouble sleeping last night.” Here is what Fawzy Rabyi confided a few minutes after the end of the match between Union Saint-Jean and AS Monaco this Sunday, December 22. We can then easily think that he did not dream of saving two penalties yesterday.

However, when we spoke with him before the Versailles reception in the previous round, he joked about the fact that he imagined himself being the hero of a penalty shootout. Ultimately, his team did not need that to dismiss the National resident.

This Sunday, in front of the 20,000 people who filled the aisles of the Stadium, he was true to himself: without pressure. “Personally, I didn't have any stress. When you go on the pitch and hear everyone shouting, it gives you a vitamin boost, you're pumped up.”

However, at the age of 24, he nonetheless remains a man who, faced with the noise and support of the Stadium, could not remain indifferent: “It's just incredible. I have the impression that “There were millions of people who loved us, who were there for us, who encouraged us. I honestly wouldn't know what else to tell you, these are emotions that I can't control.

Two penalties saved

But where he undoubtedly impressed the most was with his two penalty saves. The first comes in added time of the first half. In front of him is Breel Embolo, 1 meter 87 tall, weighing almost 100 kilos and 73 caps with Switzerland. The Helvetian rushes forward and his soft shot on the right is a godsend for Fawzi who seizes it!

“Embolo? He wanted to fake me while looking left to finally shoot right. He wanted to play with me but I won” he smiles. That same smile he wore when he had the ball in his hands after checking the attacker.

One stop is good, two stops is better, and when you come back from the locker room, do it again! This time, it's him who fouls Teze after a bad restart. Facing him, it was no longer Embolo, who preferred to hide, but Minamino, formerly of Liverpool and 62 caps on the clock with Japan.

The Nippon sets off, the rest is history: “I knew it, in his run-up, I saw where he was going to shoot. Besides, it shows, I'm going further to look for him.” Enough to correct his mistake: “I was too happy to have made up for my mistake, to keep us alive a little longer.” And if he is not exempt from all reproaches on the third goal, he cannot do anything about Ilenikhena's last.

But that doesn't matter, at the end of the match, only the positive emerges: “I remember that I made a lot of saves, I think I had a good match. When I take the penalties, and everyone shouts my first name, it's super gratifying, super rewarding.”