Espérance wins and eliminates Los Angeles FC from the Club World Cup
Even with a penalty awarded in their favor in the last minute, LAFC could not prevent their defeat and remain without a win in the World Cup. Flamengo secures a spot in the round of 16 in advance.
In an electrifying match, this Friday (20) Espérance beat Los Angeles FC 1-0, in a match valid for the second round of the 2025 Club World Cup, group D – the same group as Flamengo and Chelsea.
With this result, the Tunisian team earned their first points in the tournament and are in third place with three points. LAFC are in last place, needing to win and hope for other results in the group in the last round to possibly qualify.
Flamengo secured their early qualification for the knockout stages thanks to the positive result of the match, being the first team already in the round of 16. The Tunisians go into the last round in a direct fight against their opponent Chelsea – who also have three points.
There and here
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The first half was marked by good opportunities for both teams. Los Angeles FC had two goals disallowed for offside – one by Giroud and the other by David Martínez. The Tunisian team also threatened the opposing goal, mainly on the left side with Belaïli, who, in the fourth minute, shot alone inside the area but was stopped by Lloris. Rodrigo Rodrigues hit a beautiful volley from the edge of the area and hit the post in the ninth minute, almost opening the score in favor of Espérance.
Emotion until the end
The second half was dominated by Espérance. Four minutes into the game, Belaïli fell inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty, but after a VAR check, the goal was disallowed. In the 24th minute, Belaïli finished between Lloris’ legs to open the scoring.
The Tunisian team continued to press, which led to one of the most impressive plays of the match: Guenichi received the ball free inside the area and shot with the French goalkeeper out of position, but Igor Jesus headed the ball, which hit the crossbar before going back into play. Yan Sasse and Jabri also had chances to extend the lead, but they wasted them.Penalty missed in the last minute
In the final minutes of the match, LAFC pressed their opponents in search of an equalizer. In injury time, at 51 minutes, the game was stopped due to a possible penalty for the American team after Marlon received a kick inside the area. The VAR was checked and the penalty was awarded, but Bouanga took the shot and Ben Said saved it with his feet.
