Maher Al-Kanzari, the coach of the Tunisian Esperance, expressed his happiness at the performance of his players in the second half despite the loss against the Brazilian Flamingo 0-2 at the “Lincoln Financial Field” stadium in the Group D of the Club World Cup, considering that “the result was not surprising.”
Esperance lost its first matches with the Uruguayan goalscorer, Khuratan de AR askayetta (17) and Luis Aravo (70), before playing with Los Angeles on Friday at the “Guides Park” and then Chelsea will meet on June 24 at the “Lincoln Financial Field” stadium in the next two rounds.
“I think it was a match with a great competition, we played against a large team and included well -known players at the global level. The first half was difficult, and in the second half we performed very well after the players believed in themselves more,” Al -Kanzari, 52, told a press conference.
“I do not blame the players for the loss, but I am happy with the spirituality and personality they presented, because it is not easy to play in front of a team like this.”
The goal of our captain America🇺🇸!
Answer doing LA, pfv!#vids #The cooktheworld #Fifacwc pic.twitter.com/n5Y5czUl4W
– Flamengo (@flamengo) June 17, 2025
Goal 13 of Arrascaeta in 2025
Gol 13 Flamengo in Club World Cups (all formats)!And the first of Mengão at the Club World Cup!#vids #The cooktheworld #Fifacwc #informationpic.twitter.com/lyDI1cvJAh
– Flamengo (@flamengo) June 17, 2025
Al -Kanzari – who led Esperance to the domestic league and cup titles – considered that the result was “not surprising”, as Flamingo owns 5 or 6 players in the national team. “
On the great support from the fans of Esperance on the field, he said, “We are used to moving our fans around the world (to support us). They know that the players presented everything they have, and they know the team we faced.”
Al -Kanzari indicated before the match that he did not put a “great goal” in the competition, and he said in the press conference that “the team’s chances retreated (qualifying) after the loss, of course, but if we did not qualify, we will not have gone out of our goals,” adding, “We play each match separately, and we will try to provide the best in the next two games and the points will be governed.”
“We managed to control the match since its inception. They were defending in a good way, and sometimes it was difficult for us to attack, but I felt that sometimes we can find the appropriate space for the attack.”
“We have to go ahead and follow the work. The next match (against Chelsea) is difficult. We should not stop,” he added.