Kaizer Chiefs have named their travelling squad for Sunday’s CAF Confederation Cup Group D match against Al Mary at Suez Stadium.
The Soweto giants are already in Egypt after leaving Naturena on Wednesday as they prepare to kick off their group phase campaign. It is the first of the two trips they will make to Egypt in this group, which also includes heavyweights Zamalek SC.
Since reaching the 2020/21 CAF Champions League final, Chiefs are now pushing to make their mark in the second-tier continental club football competition.
They are in North Africa after a long layoff to make way for the Carling Knockout Cup semi-finals and the FIFA international break. Straight from time away from competitive football, Chiefs plunge themselves into the more demanding continental assignment.
WHO ARE THE CHIEFS’ PLAYERS LEFT BEHIND?
Forward Glody Lilepo did not make the travelling squad, having also not featured in Chiefs’ last Betway Premiership match against Orbit College FC owing to injury. The Congolese attacker has been left behind, together with Gaston Sirino, who is suspended.
Coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef will be hoping they will not be blunt upfront, as another striker, Khanyisa Mayo, is still out battling fitness issues. Centre-back Aden McCarthy has also not made the trip to Egypt.
However, there is some good news in the Amakhosi camp as defender Paseka Mako has returned from injury. The absence of the key players robs Chiefs of players experienced in African inter-club football.
Lilepo has previously tasted Champions League football with AS Vita and Al Hilal Omdurman, for whom he scored five goals in seven games in this competition during the 2022/23 season.
The Soweto giants will be hoping they will not miss the experience of Sirino, who used to be a Mamelodi Sundowns mainstay in the Champions League. Mayo was in this competition with CR Belouizdad last season.
However, Amakhosi can bank on Mako and Thabiso Monyane, who were part of the Orlando Pirates team that reached the semi-finals of Africa’s premier club competition last season. Centre-back Inacio Miguel also played Champions League football with Petro Atletico and in the UEFA Conference League with Latvian outfit FK Liepaja.
Lebohang Maboe also boasts of experience in Africa from his days at Sundowns, and the Confederation Cup is a level he has surpassed.
Only three survivors from the 2020/21 CAF Champions League final run—Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Bruce Bvuma, and Reeve Frosler—remain in the current Chiefs squad.
KAIZER CHIEFS’ TRAVELLING SQUAD
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