Coach Rhulani Mokwena has so many top players available that he can shuffle his Sundowns pack without weakening the squad he takes to Khartoum.
Coach Rhulani Mokwena has so many top players available that he can shuffle his pack without weakening the squad he takes to KhartoumFollowing their comprehensive 5-2 drubbing of 10-times African champions Al Ahly at a packed Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, Mamelodi Sundowns joined Morocco’s Raja Casablanca among the early qualifiers for the quarterfinals of this year’s Caf Champions League.
It would have given Sundowns great satisfaction to defeat in such emphatic fashion an Al Ahly side that knocked them out in the quarterfinals in 2020 and 2021. In fact, the last time Sundowns progressed beyond the last eight was in 2019 when they lost 2-1 on aggregate in the semifinals to Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca.
Their performance will also be under scrutiny despite the expected 36°C temperatures. However, they won’t have a passionate home crowd to contend with as the game, like all Al Hilal’s group fixtures, will be played behind closed doors due to disciplinary sanctions imposed by Caf. Aware of their desperate situation, Al Ahly’s German-born coach Marcel Koller has already tossed a psychological curveball at his Sundowns counterpart Mokwena by stating in the post-match media briefing: “I hope Sundowns will play their next two games fair, like we know them.”
Sundowns have been in imperious form this season, going unbeaten in their last 18 games since suffering a shock 3-0 defeat at the hands of Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 on October 22, so they would hardly want to disrupt their momentum. And with all Champions League knockout ties, including the final, being played over two legs, they won’t be fearing Al Ahly after ending with a dominant 7-4 score-line in their two group games that included a 2-2 draw in Cairo.
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