Tunisia's Etoile in the ascendancy

(CNN) -- If FIFA's Club World Cup has a point -- and many would still argue it doesn't -- it is surely to showcase the talents of those clubs and players usually ignored in a sport in which the spotlight is firmly shone on the superstars of Europe and South America.

They may not have broken the duopoly that will see Boca Juniors and AC Milan compete in this weekend's final in Yokohama but African champions Etoile Sportive du Sahel can at least return home from Japan after Sunday's third-place clash with Urawa Reds content that they have shown that African football is in the ascendancy.

The Tunisians earned a highly creditable 1-0 win over Mexican side Pachuca to set up a semifinal showdown with Boca. And although it was the Argentines who advanced thanks to Neri Cardozo's first half strike, it was Etoile who dominated for much of the second half as they gave the highly regarded Argentines a real scare.

"I think this was the best my team has ever played," Etoile's French coach Bertrand Marchand said afterwards. "It's quite an achievement for us to be in a third-place play-off. We've proved that African club football is in good shape. This is why we came here."

"You can't really feel too disappointed tonight," added captain Saif Ghezal. "We weren't just drawn against anyone, this was Boca Juniors we were playing. I'm frustrated about the fact that we let a goal in at a time when we were on top. You lose concentration for a few seconds and the damage is done. That's what happens at the top."

Etoile's performances were all the more impressive given the fact that few had expected them to be Africa's representatives at this tournament. The Tunisians' first African Champions League success last month was considered a major upset as they denied Al Ahly, one of the strongest club sides south of the Mediterranean, a third successive title with a 3-1 win in Cairo.

Like all the best club sides, Etoile owes its success to a mix of domestic and imported talent with Ghanaian forward Moussa Narry -- who scored the winning goal against Pachuca -- and Benin's Muri Ola Ogunbiyi both impressing in Japan.

But the team's rising star is homegrown: the 19-year-old Tunisian striker Mohamed Amine Chermiti who is already attracting attention from scouts across Europe and is tipped to be one of the big stars of next month's African Nations Cup in Ghana.

With the Tunisians grouped with Senegal, South Africa and Angola for that tournament, they will need Chermiti and his Etoile teammates to emulate their recent club form to stand any hope of advancing to the knockout stages. E-mail to a friend