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Now How About That! Etoile Progresses in Club World Cup

December 9th, 2007 | By: Rami | 12 Comments »

Sure Pachuca dominated most of the night’s proceedings but a wise man once said that the mark of true champions is that they manage to win games when they’re not playing their best. That’s exactly what happened tonight as Etoile took the lead through a vicious Moussa Nary strike from 35 yards out in the 85th minute. A win is a win and in a tournament like this we’ll take it however they give it to us.

In a game where the African Champs only saw a measly 36 percent of the ball, coming out with a victory is truly an outstanding result. We didn’t see the usual link up play that we’ve grown accustomed to from Etoile (apart from the goal of course). Instead, they tried to soak some pressure and rely on direct and ineffective counter attacks while Pachuca showed more variety and creativity in their play. In terms of fan support though, practically all I heard were the Tunisian fans singing. It looks like a good amount of supporters made their way out to the land of the rising sun to see their star shine bright. As evidenced by their post match celebrations, the players didn’t fail to notice the constant support.

The fact that Balbouli was probably the MVP of the match for Etoile was not a good sign but the Tunisian side looked a lot more lively in midfield once the second half started. Nafkha did well to disturb the flow of things as much as he could and everyone looked more intent on getting the ball back from the Mexicans. Actually, the score could have been in heavier favor to Etoile if Ben Dhifallah’s close range strike wasn’t countered at the last minute by a Pachuca defender. Another chance was missed after the goal as the Mexicans through caution to the wind and pressed forward (somehow we wasted a 3 on 1 situation!).

Well, that pretty much caps a perfect Saturday night for me. I would have liked to see a more aesthetically pleasing performance from our boys but with an upcoming Semi Final match against South American giants Boca Juniors how am I to complain? Don’t get me wrong, there were some moments where individual players showcased their skills and tricks but overall the team just didn’t play like it usually does. The Boca game will be Wednesday, the 12th of December and you can bet that the team from the Sahel will have to raise their level if they hope to compete with the perennial heavyweights of Argentina. There’s nothing to lose as winning the game against Pachuca was really the most important key to the tournament for Etoile. They’ll be celebrating in Tokyo tonight! I’m reading that Sousse is completely nuts right now, even more than after the Ahly game. And all this on a Sunday morning! What a great way to start your day. The fifa highlights are available here. I’ll embed some extended ones once they become available. For now, here’s that stunning goal!

ESS - Tunisie 1 - 0 Pachuca - Mexique : Moussa Narry
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Update

Here are the full match highlights. Pretty cool that this Japanese TV Station had cameras in Sousse to record the joy of the Etoile supporters who got up very early to watch their team.

Tags: Group H

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Comments

By Bman | December 9th, 2007 at 11:01 am

Oh man this result was tremendous. Somehow, Etoile won. Etoile defended quite fervently which is a credit to them because that requires alot of focus and energy. The Pachuca free kick taker was extremely dangerous the whole night and he got alot of oportunities. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Moussa Narry’s shot go in. The win is an incredible result , I was reading everywhere the odds makers were against Etoile, Boca Juniors were talking about how they expect to play Pachuca. Well now Boca will have a dose of Moussa Narry and company to contend with instead.

Youll notice the difference between the sides is very evident, Pachuca is a very clean team for the most part when it comes to fouling, Etoile style is more aggressive on defense which caused numerous free kick opportunities, yet it let Pachuca offensive players know it wasnt goign to be easy to score, and it wasnt. Pachuca do alot of triangle passing while ESS does alot of hold up and then throughball passing and longball.

Looking forward, thinking how do you beat Boca, I think Etoile must try to outscore them, send one or 2 more people to help Chermiti from the begining so that all the shots are not coming from outside the box. Short passes, like Pachuca did in order to give players time to move forward. If they hedge their bets and try the same strategy as against Pachuca that would be ill advised. No complaints here, the result was what mattered.

This was really amazing, the team is very resilient, if ESS gets to play AC MILAN that would be incredible!

Posted from United States

By Moni | December 9th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

Ball Posesion 36% for ESS ??? I hope Matrand choose for 3 strikers against Boca, and Gilson Silva and Khaled Melliti put in the squad from begining !! Allong with Narry.

Posted from Netherlands

By Laurie | December 9th, 2007 at 4:03 pm

That’s awesome. I hate Pachuca.

Posted from United States

By Inara | December 9th, 2007 at 9:07 pm

I saw the results of this and had to check it twice! Very very cool.

Posted from United States

By thamer | December 10th, 2007 at 12:04 am

i was surprised that pachuca dominated this match. i thought etoile would win 2-0 easily but clearly i underestimated the mexicans as they are on equal ground as etoile. their nubmer 18 giminez was particularly impressive from free kicks. however the mark of a good team is one that can win when they are not playing their best, and yesterday, we were clearly not at our best, yet still managed to defend effectively and snatch a lucky goal. other than the midfield’s lack of support for the forwards, i though ben dhifallah played like crap. from what i’ve learned from watching and reading about etoile over the last year, is that the cap verdian, gelson silva, is just about as good as chermiti, and i have no idea why he didnt start yesterday. other than the back 4 and balbouli, no one really impressed me. i watched it on fsc and the commentators were impressed with nafkha’s workhorse attitude in midfield, but even he, who im a big fan of, mad several poor desicions over the course fo the game. chermiti, who was also hyped up before the game by the commentators, didnt really do anything either. but that wasnt entirely his fault as the midfield gave him nothing to work with. hopefully it was just a case of stage fright from our boys and now that theyve got the first match out of the way, they can really show what they can do.

Posted from United States

By Etoile Sahel Dump Pachuca Out of Club World Cup - Club World Cup - The Offside - Soccer News and Opinion from leagues around the world | December 10th, 2007 at 9:00 am

[...] has a full report up at the Tunisia blog, but to sum up: Pachua dominated possession (though shots and shots on goal were virtually even) [...]

Posted from United States

By Daily Dose 12.10.07 - World Cup Blog | December 10th, 2007 at 10:00 am

[...] Etoile doing Tunisia proud at the Club World Cup (Tunisia Blog) [...]

Posted from United States

By Weekend Watch Recap: Brazilian Boys Lose Poorly - Spain La Liga - The Offside - Soccer News and Opinion from leagues around the world | December 10th, 2007 at 11:00 am

[...] posession. Pachuca couldn’t score. Let’s hear it for the underdogs! Rami over at the Tunisia page on our sister site, World Cup Blog, has the recap, including this video. Think the announcer is [...]

Posted from United States

By Jizzo | December 10th, 2007 at 4:47 pm

Thamer, Pachuca coming in was clearly the better of the two teams. After watching the game I would still say Pachuca is the better team. Ill give Etoile credit as they played a more defensive game that in the end gave them the result they needed. Not always who plays better but who hits the net.

By Moni | December 10th, 2007 at 5:00 pm

FORZAAAAAAAA ESS !!!

Catenaccio Calcio

Posted from Netherlands

By bman | December 11th, 2007 at 8:32 pm

Pachuca became Shakshooka! Hopefully the same fate awaits Boca. Will be waking up at 5am for this one!

Posted from United States

By Hatim | December 11th, 2007 at 10:06 pm

Glad to know i wont be the only one waking up at 5am. Forza ESS!!

Posted from United States

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