The 30 June Stadium in Cairo was the scene of a fierce clash between Espérance de Tunis and Pyramids FC tonight. The Blood and Gold, despite dominating for much of the match, saw their hopes vanish in stoppage time, suffering a frustrating 2-1 defeat.

The match began at a high tempo, but Espérance quickly faced contentious refereeing decisions. In the 10th minute, a goal by Youcef Belaïli was disallowed for offside, a decision strongly contested by the Tunisian bench.

A few minutes later, Mokwana, perfectly set up by Belaïli, found himself one-on-one with Egyptian goalkeeper Shenawy, but his shot was brilliantly saved. On their side, Pyramids FC showed intermittent threat, notably with an attempt by Fiston Maylee in the 40th minute, which could have opened the scoring.

The refereeing was a recurring source of tension, including a challenge on Jelassi at the half-hour mark, surprisingly downplayed by the referee. The first half ended goalless, but the Blood and Gold were clearly penalized by these repeated refereeing errors.

After the break, Espérance increased their intensity. Sasse almost opened the scoring in the 47th minute with a powerful shot that grazed the crossbar. But it was finally Youcef Belaïli who was the catalyst: in the 56th minute, from a perfectly weighted cross by Ben Ali, he showed his goalscoring instinct to give Espérance the lead.

After this goal, the Blood and Gold managed their lead, imposing their rhythm and controlling the opposing attacks. For almost 30 minutes, Reghecampf's men seemed to be heading towards a well-deserved victory.

Everything changed in stoppage time. While Espérance were still ahead, Mostapha Fathi equalized in the 90th+1 minute with a curling shot that surprised goalkeeper Memmiche. Two minutes later, Ibrahim Adel, left unmarked in the box, performed a spectacular overhead kick to give Pyramids FC the victory.

This defeat, coming after a generally solid performance, leaves a bitter taste. Espérance showed some good things, but were punished by a lack of concentration at the very end of the match and by questionable refereeing decisions. The coach and the players will have to quickly recover from this setback to prepare for the next matches. The fans, for their part, can be proud of the spirit shown by their players, despite a cruel outcome.

EST Lineup: Memmiche, Ben Ali (Bouchniba 84'), Ben Hamida(c), Jelassi, Tougaï, Aholou, Tka, Konaté (Ogbelu 85'), Sasse (Sowe 75'), Belaïli (Jabri 84') and Mokwana.
Booked: Ben Hamida, Memmiche.

Groupe D Standings