Belaili’s goal fires Esperance back into Club World Cup contention
Esperance reignited their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC on Friday night, a result that sends the Tunisians into a three-way battle for the final knock-out berth.
Algerian forward Youcef Belaili settled a stop-start contest at GEODIS Park on 70 minutes, drilling a low finish inside Hugo Lloris’s near post after Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida’s surging run had caused chaos in the LAFC area.
The goal arrived barely 20 minutes after Belaili had been booked for simulation when VAR overturned what he thought was a penalty – a decision that threatened to haunt Espérance until his cool strike sparked celebrations among the large Tunisian contingent in the stands.
The evening’s drama began long before Belaili’s winner. With thunderstorms rumbling over Tennessee, kick-off was delayed almost an hour; when play finally began, LAFC seized the early initiative.
Denis Bouanga and teenage forward David Martínez both found the net inside the opening half-hour, only to see the offside flag deny them.
The first period yielded just six shots in total – the lowest of any half in the tournament – yet Esperance still created the clearest opening when Belaili raced clear after three minutes only for Lloris to block with his legs.
Belaili’s VAR incident nine minutes after the restart seemed a pivotal swing.
Referee Anthony Taylor initially pointed to the spot when Bouanga clipped the forward from behind, but the Englishman reversed the decision on review and showed Belaili a yellow card.
Under tournament regulations it means he will miss the decisive meeting with Chelsea on Tuesday through suspension.
Having survived that scare, Steve Cherundolo’s side went for the jugular. Taylor had barely restarted the contest when a fierce thunderstorm forced another lengthy stoppage, but the interruption favoured Espérance.
Head coach Maher Kenzari introduced Yann Sas and Ashraf Jabri to stretch LAFC on the counter, and the reshuffle paid off when Belaili struck.
Esperance twice came within centimetres of doubling their advantage: Sas dragged wide after slaloming past two defenders, while Khalil Kenichi rattled the crossbar following more clever work by Belaili.
At the other end Bouanga forced Bashir Ben Said into a fingertip save before substitute Jeremy Ebobisse volleyed over.
The MLS side were handed a lifeline deep into stoppage time when Taylor penalised Kenichi for catching Bouanga in the box.
Bouanga took responsibility himself, only to see Ben Said block with his right foot – a save greeted by deafening roars from the travelling Esperance supporters.
The result lifts Esperance level with Chelsea on three points, though the Tunisians remain third on goal difference. Flamengo, perfect after victories over both European clubs, are already through as group winners.
LAFC, still without a point after successive defeats, cannot progress even if they upset Flamengo in Orlando.
Espérance’s task is clear: beat Chelsea at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and they will join Flamengo in the quarter-finals, completing a remarkable turnaround after their opening-day loss. For African football, a path suddenly looks possible.
