You may not know his name, but there’s no chance you’ve never bumped into the legendary footage of Brahima Diarra. He is a young Malian footballer who became a popular meme thanks to his reaction during the national anthem prior to a game.Type ‘try not to laugh’ in your GIF search and there’s no chance you won’t recognize him.ON THIS DAY: 4 Juli 2023 🗓️🇲🇱 Brahima Diarra (Mali U23) jadi target utama kameramen AFCON 😂…………….and the meme is born! 🤣pic.twitter.com/yUJCZlPwZo— MEDIO CLUB ID (@medioclubID) July 4, 2024 However, Diarra, 21, is much, much more than just that since he’s been a regular Malian international and he’s actually representing the western Africa country at the Paris Olympics.Diarra – an offensive midfielder playing mostly on the right – has been called up for the global showpiece despite having little presence in the previous season’s Huddersfield squad in the EFL Championship.He made it to the starting XI in the opening game against Israel, which ended in a 1-1 draw.Africa is your second choice after others dump you? Obi Mikel has a message for youBrahima clocked 74 minutes and did a really good job on the right flank before being substituted near the end. He’ll get another chance to prove his qualities on Saturday night as Mali face Japan in what could be the decisive group game for the Africans.Only two teams will advance to the knockout stage, and Japan are at the top of the group after beating Paraguay in the opening match.PARIS OLYMPICS – FOOTBALL MENGroup stageSaturday20.00: (2.45) Israel M23 (3.40) Paraguay M23 (2.85)20.00: (7.50) N.Zealand M23 (4.60) USA M23 (1.42)22.00: (1.27) France M23 (5.90) Guinea M23 (10.5)22.00: (1.80) Japan M23 (3.60) Mali M23 (4.60)***odds are subject to change***
