Tunisian club Espérance will be on the flight back home after being knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup. Espérance finished third in Group D following their 3-0 loss to Chelsea in the early hours of Wednesday in a match played at Lincoln Field in Philadelphia, United States (US). “Football is played for 90 minutes, including wasted time. We played the first 45 minutes but forgot about the wasted time,” reflected Espérance head coach Maher Kanzari, whose side conceded…

Tunisian outfit Espérance has registered its first win at the FIFA Club World Cup after seeing off Los Angeles in their Group D clash on Friday. The two sides met at the Geodis Park in Nashville, where the North Africans dictated play to become the second African team to win a match at this tournament after Mamelodi Sundowns. Youcef Belaili’s 70th-minute goal earned Espérance all three points and eliminated the Major League Soccer (MLS) team from the competition. Espérance, now…

Brazilian side Flamengo enjoyed ball possession of 80% to ease past Africa’s Espérance in their FIFA Club World Cup Group D clash. The two sides battled each other in the early hours of Tuesday morning, South African time, in Philadelphia, United States (US). Flamengo dominated for the better part of the match, scoring through Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Luiz Araujo. Esperance managed only two attempts on goal throughout the 90 minutes. Flamengo found the back of the net as early…

Tunisian club Espérance Sportive de Tunis has announced the team for the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup. The four-time CAF Champions League winners were placed in Group D alongside Chelsea [England], Flamengo [Brazil], and Club Leon [Mexico]. Espérance, boosting a 23-man squad, will also count on Bafana Bafana winger, Elias Mokwana, who’s among the forwards. GOALKEEPERS Amanallah Memmiche, Bechir Ben Said, Mohamed Sedki Debchi DEFENDERS Yassine Meriah, Mohamed Amine Tougai, Hamza Jelassi, Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida, Raed Bouchniba, Ayman Ben…

Elias Mokwana’s first season with Tunisian club Espérance will go down as one to remember. The Bafana Bafana winger won his third title of the 2024/25 season when Espérance beat Stade Tunisien 1-0 to win the Tunisian Cup at Stade Olympique Hammadi-Agrebi on Sunday. Espérance have completed a treble this season as they also won the Tunisian Ligue 1 and Super Cup. The 25-year-old has contributed significantly to the Blood and Gold in his first season in North Africa after…

The gap between new Tunisian champions Espérance and the second most crowned, Club Africain, has widened. Espérance have been crowned the champions for the 34th time in their history, and their success pales in comparison to Club Africain, who have been left far behind with just 13 to their name. The Tunisian Ligue 1 is one of the leagues in the world where one team is totally dominant over others. Espérance’s rivals did put up a fight in the 2024/25…

Espérance forward Elias Mokwana is a Tunisian Ligue 1 champion in his first season with the club. Mokwana was on the scoresheet in Espérance’s 5-0 emphatic win over Olympique Béja on Sunday to secure the title, becoming the first South African to win the league title in Tunisia. This was Taraji’s 34th league title, which is a record in the Tunisian league. The Bafana Bafana winger came close to success in the CAF Champions League, but they were knocked out…

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has come down hard on Mamelodi Sundowns following crowd trouble from their match against Espérance earlier this month. Espérance supporters, in the region of 600, clashed with the home supporters of Sundowns at Loftus Stadium when the Tshwane team won 1-0 in a CAF Champions League Quarterfinal first leg match. The Espérance supporters were allegedly the aggressors, but CAF has also punished Sundowns for inadequate security. “The CAF Disciplinary Board charged Mamelodi Sundowns with…

Mamelodi Sundowns have called on Tunisian club Espérance to “denounce” the behavior of its supporters after the ugly scenes at Loftus Stadium. Sundowns beat Espérance 1-0 at the Pretoria venue on Tuesday in a CAF Champions League quarter-finals first leg encounter, but their victory was marred by clashes between the supporters from both ends. However, it’s evident in video footage that the Espérance section—believed to be around 600 traveling supporters—were the aggressors, throwing water bottles and even security gates. In…

Bafana Bafana winger Elias Mokwana is proving his worth in North Africa in more ways than one, with goals and assists aplenty. Mokwana, 25, has taken the good with the bad to endear himself to the hearts of the Espérance faithful, who are now probably convinced he’s a good buy for the 33-time Tunisian league champions. For a player who was playing for Platinum City Rovers in South Africa’s ABC Motsepe League—the third tier—just a few years ago, Mokwana’s meteoric…