The Tunisian side displayed attractive and eye-catching play to secure three points that give them life and hope for the final matchday. Youcef Belaïli, scorer and man of the match, along with goalkeeper Ben Said, who saved a penalty in the 100th minute, were the heroes.
The Club World Cup is providing moments and stories to remember, as well as matches and surprises that make this competition even more appealing. In Nashville, ES Tunis secured their first victory and their first goal in this edition by defeating Los Angeles FC 0-1. Youcef Belaïli provided the spectacle and the goal; Ben Said was the hero after saving a penalty in the 100th minute.
The Tunisian team came out to enjoy themselves on the pitch at Geodis Park and quickly made it clear that they would leave nothing in the tank. Thus, in the 5th minute of the match, they took advantage of a poor clearance from their opponent, and the ball fell kindly to Belaïli in the area, who struck the ball too centrally, and Lloris flew to clear it away.
Los Angeles dominated possession but failed to convert their chances. They lacked something on the game and they were even close to be down again after Rodrigo Rodrigues’ shot hit the post.
Steve Cherundolo’s men responded and opened the scoring through the legendary Giroud. However, the play was eventually disallowed and that wasn’t the only VAR intervention in a game full of controversial referee decisions.
The second 45 minutes showed more desire from ES Tunis. Amine drove into the area. He failed to shoot, but the rebound favored Belaïli, who controlled the ball and beat Lloris between his legs.
In the 99th minute, Guenichi stepped on Marlon’s foot inside the area, and he went down. The referee did not signal anything at first, but he was alerted by VAR. Bouanga struck it weakly and poorly with his right foot, and Ben Said pulled off a good save to prevent the goal.