Flamengo fulfilled its duty in the World Cup debut

Flamengo did what it had to do. They defeated Tunisia's Espérance 2-0 in Philadelphia, scoring one goal in each half, alternating different moments throughout the game, enduring some suffering in the final stage, when they were still only winning 1-0, reminiscent of the (almost) tragedy against Venezuela's Tachira recently at Maracanã. The team needs to be more attentive and intense, as their next opponents will be more difficult. The important thing for now was to secure the three points, which could help them qualify. Jorginho and Luiz Araújo were the best on the field.

Flamengo's start was encouraging. They had the ball at their feet, had total control, and scored a goal by Arrascaeta in the 16th minute, finishing off a pass from Luiz Araújo. The problem was that the team started exchanging too many passes, especially in midfield, and didn't create any more opportunities, allowing Espérance to occasionally try attacking plays. Thus, they wasted the chance to increase the score, or even, who knows, win the game in the first half.

The African team made two changes for the final stage, both in attack, which suggested that they were trying to get a draw. Maher Kanzari moved the team forward to make it harder for Flamengo to get out of the game, as they seemed too slow to decide, which kept the suspense surrounding the result. What actually happens is that teams like Espérance have nothing to lose, and at a certain point they decide to dream about something that, in general terms, is very difficult. And since in football everything is possible, sometimes they succeed. The match started to get difficult, as one mistake would ruin the party.

At 15 minutes, they started looking for a solution. Filipe Luis signaled substitutions. At 19, Plata and Bruno Henrique replaced Gérson and Pedro respectively, as Flamengo could no longer play. At 21, Belaili shot for the third time, and Rossi, this time, saved providently. Espérance became a threat.

Then, at 24, Luiz Araújo received the ball from Jorginho and shot to the right, leaving Ben Said with no chance: 2-0. With the advantage, the Rio team took a breather, but it is a fact that the Tunisians did not slow down, and continued to search for at least one goal, which did not happen, as, in practice, their athletes lacked greater skill.

To repeat: the important thing was to win three points.

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