Espérance survive Swehly scare to reach TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Group Stage on penalties
Four-time African champions Espérance Sportive de Tunis overturned a first-leg deficit to qualify for the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2026/27 Group Stage after defeating Libya’s Swehly SC 3-1 on penalties in Tunisia on Saturday.
Imad Faraj scored the only goal of the second leg in the eighth minute to give Espérance a 1-0 victory and level the Second Preliminary Round tie at 1-1 on aggregate.
The Tunisian giants then held their nerve in the penalty shootout to avoid an early elimination and end Swehly’s hopes of securing a memorable qualification.
Espérance had entered the return encounter under considerable pressure after suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat in the opening leg in Libya, leaving the four-time continental champions facing the possibility of missing out on the group stage.
However, Faraj provided the perfect start for the hosts when he broke the deadlock after just eight minutes, cancelling out Swehly’s first-leg advantage and bringing the contest back on level terms.
The early breakthrough gave Espérance renewed confidence as they sought another goal that would put them ahead in the tie.
Swehly, meanwhile, were forced to respond to the setback after arriving in Tunisia with a slender advantage secured through their impressive performance in the opening encounter.
Despite the early goal, neither side managed to find another breakthrough before half-time, leaving qualification finely balanced.
The second half also failed to produce a goal as Espérance struggled to turn their home advantage into the decisive strike, while Swehly remained in contention for a historic result.
With the aggregate score still level at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the tie was decided by a penalty shootout.
Espérance converted three of their penalties while Swehly managed just one, with the Libyan club missing three attempts as the hosts secured a 3-1 shootout victory.
The result completed a significant recovery for Espérance, who had been in danger of becoming one of the biggest casualties of the Second Preliminary Round following their defeat in Libya.
For Swehly, the elimination represents a disappointing end to a campaign in which they came close to knocking out one of African football’s most successful clubs.
Their first-leg victory had raised hopes of a major upset, but Espérance's early goal and greater composure in the shootout ultimately proved decisive.
Espérance now advance to the 16-team Group Stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2026/27, scheduled to begin at the end of November.