Club World Cup Team Betting Predictions: Esperance Sportive de Tunis

One of a host of clubs invited to the Fifa Club World Cup based on rankings rather than from winning a continental competition, Esperance Sportive de Tunis are four-time former African club champions who last lifted that crown in 2019.

More recently they have retained the Tunisian Ligue 1 championship this season to make it eight titles in nine years. My Esperance Sportive de Tunis Fifa Club World Cup 2025 predictions follow below, with a full run-down of their chances of winning the competition, and an assessment of their squad.

Group D: Chelsea, Flamengo, Los Angeles FC, Esperance

Fixtures: Flamengo vs Esperance (02:00 BST, June 17), Los Angeles vs Esperance (23:00 BST, June 20), Esperance vs Chelsea (02:00 BST, June 25)

Player to watch: Youcef Belaili

Having appeared in three Club World Cups under its former structure without ever reaching a semi-final, Esperance might actually regard this as a bigger opportunity to play in front of a global audience despite the likelihood that they will be eliminated early.

The perennial Tunisian champions’ heyday came back in 2018 and 2019 when they won back-to-back Caf Champions League crowns.

After overturning a 3-1 first-leg deficit to beat Al Ahly in the first of those, they were awarded the ’19 crown when Wydad Casablanca refused to play on after a disallowed equaliser in the second-leg of the final couldn’t be checked by Var due to a system failure.

Now thrust into the same sphere as some of the biggest clubs in the world, this ought to be a difficult experience for Maher Kanzari’s limited squad.

Club World Cup 2025 Odds

The much-travelled manager has only been in post since mid-March having succeeded Laurentiu Reghecampf to become EST’s third permanent boss of the season. Miguel Cardoso, who was shown his cards in October, is now in charge of Club World Cup rivals Mamelodi Sundowns.

Despite the turmoil, which saw them drop down to seventh in the table at one point, Esperance won the league title by four points in the end.

They come into the tournament off the back of recording six clean sheets in their last nine Ligue 1 matches, having conceded only once in five games on the way to winning the Tunisian Cup. The Blood and Gold also shipped just five goals in 10 Champions League matches before being ousted 1-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals by Cardoso’s Sundowns.

This is a whole new level for them though, and it’s no surprise to see them as one of the competition’s biggest outsiders in Betfred’s markets.

Whereas Chelsea are 4/9 and Flamengo 11/4 to top Group D, Esperance are 40/1 to win the section with even the late arrivals Los Angeles FC at 6/1. Esperance are 9/1 simply to qualify as one of the best two sides.

Player to watch: Youcef Belaili

A journeyman winger now enjoying his third stint with Esperance, Youcef Belaili is an Algeria international who top the goalscoring charts with 19 over the course of the regular 2024/25 campaign.

Despite now being 33, Belaili has proven to be one of the more dynamic players in the Tunisian league, and was a key contributor along with attacking midfielder Yan Sasse as EST rallied in the second half of the season to retain their title.

A left winger with ability on both feet and fantastic vision, he will need to be the best version of himself if Esperance are to make any waves in the USA.

Football Odds

*FIFA Club World Cup: Bet £10 or more on a team to win the 2025 Club World Cup and receive £2 in Free Bets for each game your team wins in 90 minutes to use on Football Bet Builders.

Prediction: To be eliminated in the group stage

While they might be able to give LAFC a bit of a scare if the wind is in their sails on the night in Nashville, I just can’t see Esperance doing enough in the other two games to cause any trouble.

Flamengo are probably the best-positioned non-European side to go on and reach the final of the tournament, while Chelsea are naturally fancied to do well given the resources available to them.

This could probably have come at a better time for EST. Say, in 2019 when they were Africa’s best outfit, but even then it would have been a stretch to tip them to go far given their poor turnouts in the Club World Cup as it was then.

They might have their moments, but they have much more than that.

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