Esperance Sportive de Tunis battled fiercely to secure their place in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Quarter-finals, completing the lineup of the top eight teams vying for Africa’s most prestigious club football trophy.
In a tense home match on Saturday night, the Tunisians edged past Al Hilal SC with a hard-fought 1-0 victory, sealing their spot in the quarter-finals.
Among the teams that secured quarter-final berths, five are former champions, while two Tanzanian teams, Simba and Young Africans, also made it to the last eight.
Despite a few teams yet to taste continental success, powerhouses like Al Ahly, TP Mazembe, Esperance, ASEC Mimosas, and Mamelodi Sundowns bring considerable experience to the competition, having lifted the trophy in the past.
Defending champions Al Ahly maintained their title defense with a 1-0 home win against Young Africans, securing the top spot in Group D with 12 points.
Sundowns claimed the top spot in Group A with 13 points after defeating TP Mazembe 1-0, while the Congolese side also advanced to the quarter-finals as the group’s second-placed team.
ASEC Mimosas topped Group B with 11 points, despite losing away to former champions Wydad Casablanca. Simba’s impressive 6-0 win over Jwaneng Galaxy secured their spot in the quarter-finals alongside Wydad.
In Group C, Petro de Luanda and Esperance emerged as the qualifiers for the quarter-finals. Petro de Luanda finished atop the group with 12 points after a 2-0 win over Etoile du Sahel, while Esperance secured second place with 11 points following their 1-0 victory against Al Hilal.
The date for the draw of the quarter-finals will be announced by CAF in the coming days.
Quarter-Final Teams:
- Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
- TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
- ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire)
- Simba (Tanzania)
- Petro de Luanda (Angola)
- Esperance (Tunisia)
- Al Ahly (Egypt)
- Young Africans (Tanzania)
