Elias Mokwana's Esperance picked up their first win at the FIFA Club World Cup after defeating Los Angeles FC 1-0 on Saturday.
FIFA Club World Cup
Result: Los Angeles FC 0-1 Esperance
Date: 21 June 2025
Venue: GEODIS Park
Mokwana was restored to the starting line-up after coming on a substitute against Flamengo during the week, as Yan Sasse dropped to the bench while Olivier Giroud was brought into the LAFC line-up.
The Tunisian giants made a better start to the encounter compared to the loss to Flamengo, as Youcef Belaïli went close to giving his side the lead after 11 minutes by firing just wide of the mark.
However, LAFC had the ball in the back of the net on 27 minutes when David Martínez slammed home from the rebound, but the celebrations were cut short due to an offside in the build up.
That proved to be the final bit of goal-mouth action in the half, although the United States outfit did end the half with a lot more possession as Esperance struggled to fashion any openings on the break.
Esperance thought they had won a penalty five minutes into the second half when Belaili appeared to have been brought down, but after a check on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor, the referee overturned his decision.
The Tunisians made a double change for the final 30 minutes, as Mokwana's evening came to an end along with Rodrigo Rodrigues as Yann Sasse and Jabir were introduced in the attack.
However, Esperance took the lead with 20 minutes to play as Belaili pounced on a loose ball in the box and skipped past one challenge before firing home from close range.
The African giants did have a couple more chances in the closing stages but the decision-making was not up to par as Yan Sasse and Guenichi failed to find the target in some good positions.
Nevertheless, the Tunisians were able to see out the closing stages as goalkeeper Bechir Ben Saïd proved to be the hero by saving a penalty from Denis Bouanga in the 97th minute, sealing an important win.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
