Club World Cup 2025: Espérance de Tunis secures a crucial victory

Espérance de Tunis clinched a vital 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC on the second matchday of the 2025 Club World Cup. The win came at the end of a tense encounter, with Bechir Ben Saïd stepping up as the hero in the dying moments.

After their opening defeat to Flamengo, the Blood and Gold showed a much-improved performance. As early as the 11th minute, Youcef Belaïli fired the first warning shot, narrowly missing the target. LAFC thought they had taken the lead in the 27th minute, but David Martínez’s goal was ruled out for offside.

After the break, Belaïli thought he had won a penalty, but the referee overturned his decision after a VAR review. The Tunisian club finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute: Belaïli, once again, pounced on a poorly cleared ball in the box, danced past a defender, and blasted a powerful shot past the keeper.

In the dying moments, Denis Bouanga won a penalty for the Californians, but Ben Saïd came up huge, saving the spot-kick in the 97th minute. Espérance thus claims its first win of the tournament and keeps its hopes alive in this fiercely competitive group.

Aliou Toundé |

Editorfr