Heading into the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, most of the stories circling the tournament had to do with low ticket sales, a lack of promotion and excitement, and Seattle Sounders players protesting how small their cut of the pie is while wearing ” Club World Ca$h Grab” tee-shirts during warm-ups of a game a few weeks ago. But now that the Club World Cup is here and we’ve seen the energy these clubs and their supporters bring to America, we’re reminded of what we love most – watching the beautiful game.
Strong Show of Support from Traveling Flamengo Fans
Before Monday night’s opening Club World Cup match in Philadelphia, fans from Brazil’s Flamengo FC and Tunisia’s Espérance Sportive de Tunis brought the party to the shores of the United States with tremendous displays of support for their beloved clubs.
Fans of Brazilian giants Flamengo FC met on the top of the Art Museum’s Rocky steps before Monday night’s game, which might be looked down upon if Flamengo were going up against one of Philadelphia’s own. But since that wasn’t the case, Philadelphians are willing to let it slide, and admittedly, it was really cool to see this group of fans get together to show support for their team nearly 5,000 miles from home.
Excellent Scences from Espérance Sportive de Tunis
But even more impressive than the display from the Flamengo faithful to me was the showing from the Espérance supporters. Forgive me, but I was not familiar with your game, Espérance!
First, the Tunisian powerhouse took over Times Square in NYC with flags, chants, and a large crowd all sporting their team colors of Red, Yellow, and Black before Matchday 1.
Then, upon arrival in Philadelphia, Espérance fans threw a party on the banks of the Delaware River with a big bonfire at Penn’s Landing, which was not up to City code, but looked like a REALLY good time.
Finally, Esperénce took over Pattison Ave outside Citizens Bank Park on their way into The Linc on Monday night as fans sang and marched to support their team at this Club World Cup. I don’t think this was planned and OK’d by the event staff beforehand, but it’s awesome to see this type of fan culture make its way to the US before next Summer’s FIFA World Cup.
Flamengo’s 2-0 Win to Kickoff Club World Cup Group Play
On the pitch, however, it was all Flamengo at Lincoln Financial Field late on Monday night. Just 17 minutes into the game, it was the 31-year-old Uruguayan Giorgian De Arrascaeta who opened the scoring for Flamengo when he struck a cross back into the middle of the penalty area with his first touch and beat Espérance keeper Bechir Ben Said to his right side. The opener from De Arrascaeta was his first of the Tournament and was assisted by former Atlanta United winger Luiz Araujo, his first assist of the season.
Espérance had a chance to level the game in the 67th minute when Youcef Belaili got off an attempt in traffic that was kicked away by Flamengo’s keeper Augustin Rossi. But just a few minutes after Rossi’s save kept Flamengo on top, the Brazilians doubled their lead with a left-footed curler that Luiz Araujo placed in the far right corner of the net to seal all 3 points in Group D’s Matchday 1.
The beauty from Arajuo was his first goal of the tournament and his second goal contribution of the night. The Italian Jorginho is credited with his first assist on the second goal for Flamengo.
Filipe Luís Cautiously Celebrates Club World Cup Opening Win
The former Atlético Madrid left-back Felipe Luís has Flamingo soaring since taking over for the Brazilian giants Last October. His team’s win over Espérance on Monday night moves his overall record in charge of Flamengo to 32W-11D-3L in 46 total games, a dominant record to say the least.
But despite the win, Luís knows his team can’t be too happy with the result and will instead have to focus on the English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club on Friday afternoon in their second match at this Club World Cup.
“Now let’s think about Chelsea, it’s a tough group, but we’re happy. We always want to play forward and fast, but sometimes players slow down a bit and go fast when they want to. They choose to do that sometimes, but I think it was a good game,” he added. – Felipe Luís
Espérance’s Maher Kanzari Applauds Team’s Effort Despite Loss.
Coming into the Club World Cup, Espérance coach Maher Kanzari said his team wouldn’t fear or back down to anyone, even the biggest and most powerful teams. And despite a 2-0 loss to Flamengo in Philadelphia, Kanzari applauded his side’s effort after they went down early and tried to claw their way back into the game.
“The loss to Flamengo wasn’t a surprise. Despite the result, I’m satisfied with the spirit and character shown by the players. We struggled in the first half but improved significantly after the break.” – Maher Kanzari
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Club World Cup: Group D Standings After Matchday 1
- 1st: Flamengo – 1W-0D-0L – 3pts – +2 GD
- 2nd: Chelsea – 1W-0D-0L – 3pts – +2 GD
- 3rd: LAFC – 0W-0D-1L – 0pts – -2 GD
- 4th: Esperance: – 0W-0D-1L – 0pts – -2 GD
Club World Cup: Group D Matchday 2 Schedule
- June 20th – Flamengo FC vs Chelsea FC – 2:00 pm – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
- June 20th – Espérance VS LAFC – 6:00 pm – GEODIS Park, Nashville, SC
More Club World Cup Matches you can watch today!
- Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca – noon – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
- Real Madrid vs Al Hilal – 3:00 pm – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL
- Pachuca vs Red Bull Salzburg – 6:00 pm – TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
- Al-Ain vs Juventus – 9:00 pm – Audi Field, D.C.
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Featured Image Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
