Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has identified Al-Hilal Omdurman’s key strength as they prepare for Friday’s CAF Champions League tie. Al-Hilal is set to host Sundowns in a CAF Champions League Group C match at the Stade Amahoro in Kigali, Rwanda. The match kicks off at 21h00. Al-Hilal, a Sudanese team, is competing in Rwanda’s Premier League due to the civil war in their country.
They are currently top of the league and are unbeaten in their CAF Champions League group. They face Mamelodi Sundowns, who are also unbeaten in this competition.
In their last meeting at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on 23 January, Al-Hilal showed they can handle tough opponents, demonstrating strong defensive skills and resilience as they forced a 2-2 draw.
WHAT THE MAMELODI SUNDOWNS COACH SAID
And Cardoso has identified why the Sudanese outfit moves as a solid unit, even during tough phases. He said Al-Hilal’s biggest strength is their commitment, forged through spending a lot of time together, including representing their national team.
The Sundowns gaffer said the Al-Hilal players have forged a powerful relationship that has even manifested at the national team level.
“We know very well the capacity that Al-Hilal has in order to put the spirit they put inside the pitch, in the way they have quality and how committed they are because it’s a team that spends a lot of time together,” Cardoso said.
“Even now on the national team, a lot of the base of this team was still together in the AFCON. But I think it’s important that we, as Mamelodi Sundowns, analyse all the opponents with the same level of depth, so that we understand obviously what to expect, what kind of variance, what kind of problems they can pose to us.”
As it stands, Sundowns top Group C with five points. Al-Hilal are second on the same number of points, with third-placed FC Saint-Éloi Lupopo on four points. Rulani Mokwena’s MC Alger anchors the group with one point.
CARDOSO IN BULLISH MOOD TO UPSET AL-HILAL AT HOME
Cardoso strongly asserted that they have done their homework and will not travel all the way to Rwanda to drop points.
“I remember the first Champions League group stage match, fixture one here, the match between Al-Hilal and MC Alger. It was a very, very tough match with a lot of intensity,” he added.
“But we need to always take the games as much as possible to the comfort zone that we might have, and that’s what we’re going to do for sure. Strong commitment.
“We don’t travel so far to just come here and not take the game to the level that we have, to take the responsibility we have to take it. I think both teams understand the importance of this game in terms of the final result of the group stage.”
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