Club World Cup: Esperance clinch dramatic win while Harry Kane sends Bayern Munich through

The National

9 hours ago

Esperance de Tunis kept their Club World Cup hopes alive as the enigmatic Youcef Belaili scored in the 70th minute while goalkeeper Ben Said saved a penalty deep in second-half stoppage time to help defeat Los Angeles FC 1-0 in a dramatic contest in Nashville.
Victory took Esperance level with Chelsea in Group D in second spot, after the English side lost 3-1 to Brazil's Flamengo earlier on Friday.
In the game on Friday, referee Espen Eskas awarded a very late spot kick following a video review, ruling Khalil Guenichi had felled Marlon in the area.
But Denis Bouanga drove his ensuing penalty kick into the dive of Said, the final salvo in a result that eliminated LA FC from tournament contention.
The winners of Esperance's clash with Chelsea on Tuesday in Philadelphia will move on to the knockout phase.
The Tunisians had an earlier penalty decision go against them 20 minutes before Belaili 's opener, when the Algerian attacker believed he had earned a spot kick after driving past Bouanga on the dribble.
But Eskas was summoned to the monitor, and after consulting replays, ruled Bouanga wasn't guilty of a foul, and booked Belaili for simulation.
That failed to halt the momentum for Esperance, however, who were the better side for most of the encounter and did allow LA FC to record a shot on target until second-half stoppage time.
They were eventually rewarded when Amine Ben Hamida made a marauding run from the left flank.
He was eventually halted by an LA's defence. But Belaili was first to the loose ball, and he drove his finish low and hard through goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
It appeared LA FC's fading tournament hopes would be given a lifeline after Eskas's second penalty decision, with the Gabon international Bouanga stepping forward.
But Said dove to his left, and with Bouanga's placement very poor, the Tunisian goalkeeper kicked the ball wide of danger with his trailing leg.
Harry Kane delighted
Bayern Munich's England striker Harry Kane said he is relishing the Club World Cup 's 'special' atmosphere and is confident the German team can now go all the way.
Kane scored the opener for Bayern in a 2-1 win over Argentina's Boca Juniors at Hard Rock Stadium that took his side through to the last 16.
He said it had been a tough challenge in the heat and humidity of South Florida.
'There's something special about these World Cup games and next year will be the same,' he said with a nod to the 2026 World Cup.
'When you come off that pitch and you're sweating and you're dripping and you're cramping and you've given everything on the pitch. There's a special feeling inside, especially when you win. That's what we had today.'
Boca responded to Kane's opener through Miguel Merentiel, but Michael Olise sealed the win six minutes from time.
'Really tough game. I thought the first half was really good, I mean we probably should have been 2 or 3-0 up. They hung in the game and the second half made it more difficult,' said Kane, who acknowledged the incredible support of more than 55,000 Boca fans in the 63,587 crowd.
'I mean it felt like an away game out there for sure, their fans were really loud. It was a great experience to play in front of them and I think that's what makes the win even more special, because it feels like a good away win,' he said.
'So we're really happy, really pleased and we'll sleep well tonight.'
Bayern's win was the first for a European team against South American opposition in the tournament and Kane said he was enjoying pitting himself against opponents European clubs rarely face.
'I think it's great to experience different teams and I think you've seen in this tournament already, the South American teams especially have caused big problems for some of the European teams.