Al-Ahly VS Mamelodi Sundowns CAF Champions League Group
Mamelodi Sundowns qualified for the CAF Champions League Group Stages after defeating La Passe FC 15-1 on aggregate over two legs during the second preliminary round matches played in October.
With the CAF CL Group Stages scheduled to kick-off from February 2023, Mamelodi Sundowns Head Coach Rulani Mokwena reviewed the CAF Champions League Group Stages Draw that was conducted on Monday (12 December 2022)
The Brazilians were drawn in a competitive Group B against former title holders Al-Ahly SC of Egypt, Al Hilal – Omdurman from Sudan and Coton Sport FC from Cameroon.
“Firstly we have to recognise that there’s a lot of difficult teams that have made it into the Group Stages of the Champions League and over the years it has become a tough competition for all teams. There is familiarity in the draw with regards to the teams from the group that we had in 2021,” said Coach Mokwena as he reacted to the CAF CL Draw.
Al-Ahly VS Mamelodi Sundowns CAF Champions League Group
Bafana Ba Style has played against both Al-Hilal before and Al-Ahly in 2021 during the group stages of the continental competition.
Coach Rulani shared how it’s always difficult to play against the two teams away from home which is not only because of the environment, but also because of the hostility of travelling and playing the teams in their home grounds.
He also mentioned that because the teams have changed their coaches and have improvements in the Squad, the games will be technically different and challenging.
The 2016 CAF CL Winners look forward to meeting their opponents in Sudan and Cameroon.
The Brazilians Coach communicated that the team is aware of the competitive players in Al-Hilal, such as Gerald Phiri and their experienced coach Ramón Díaz. With the Cameroon side Coton Sport FC, he mentioned that the team anticipates traveling to Cameroon to see how far they can get.
Additionally, Coach Rulani revealed what the team’s goal is for the Group stages and going forward for this year’s CAF Champions League campaign.
“The number one goal we have is to come out of the group stages strong, get as many points as we can to qualify and make it to the knock-out stages. We fortunately already have our analysts working around the clock to gather as much information as they can [and] because over the years Sundowns versus Al-Ahly has become a big fixture, we expect the games to be more strategic and tactical .“
With the Cameroon side Coton Sport FC being a closed book, Coach Rulani said “We have our analysts (data, performance, opposition) to research and get games with more recent information to get enough information for preparations. They are a competitive team and we will be thorough in preparations as we always are.”
Additionally, Coach Mokwena revealed what the team’s goal is for the Group stages and going forward for this year’s CAF Champions League campaign, “The number one goal we have is to come out of the group stages strong, get as many points as we can to qualify and make it to the knock-out stages. we expect the games to be more strategic and tactical .”
Apart from making logistical preparations, the 2016 winners have an advance team to find convenient ways to travel whilst maintaining competitive advantage to win. Equally, the coaches will prepare the team from a tactical perspective to be strong enough to compete in that space
Mamelodi Sundowns opening match in the group stages will be against Al-Hilal in a home encounter on the 10th / 11th of February 2023.
The Brazilians Coach communicated that the team is aware of the competitive players in Al-Hilal, such as Gerald Phiri and their experienced coach (Jean-Florent Ibenge) that is used to the terrain.
Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Al-Hilal in a Home encounter on the 11th of February 2023 for their first game in the Group stages.
Our Fixtures:
Coton Sport FC VS Mamelodi Sundowns -18 February 2023
Al-Ahly VS Mamelodi Sundowns – 25 February 2023
Mamelodi Sundowns VS Al-Ahly – 7 March 2023
Al-Hilal VS Mamelodi Sundowns – 18 March 2023
Mamelodi Sundowns VS Coton Sport FC – 1 April 2023
