By Ayanda Nyuswa
Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Steve Komphela says it would be ‘marvelous’ for Masandawana to jet-off to the FIFA Club World Cup as African champions. Sundowns is currently in a CAF Champions league final tussle against Egyptian side Pyramids FC, as both teams head into the second leg in Cairo on Sunday evenly poised with a 1-1 aggregate scoreline. Downs attacker Lucas Ribeiro Costa and Pyramids midfielder Walid El Karti were the goal-scorers in the first leg in Pretoria last weekend. The Egyptians currently hold the advantage after scoring an away goal.
Sundowns, who recently wrapped up an eighth consecutive Betway Premiership title, is one of four African teams (Al Ahly, Wydad Athletic and Esperance de Tunis) who will take part in the newly expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup tournament in the United States of America from 14 June-13 July. The Brazilians have been drawn in group C alongside German giants Borrusia Dortmund, Flumininse FC (Brazil), and Ulsan HD (South Korea).
“It would be a great opportunity and we pray it happens,” Komphela remarked after being asked about the possibility of going to the World Cup as continental champions.
“We should benefit and leverage the fact that we have had the experience here, we could see what happened and we can rectify some of the things we went through, we could’ve done better and we have seen what they can do and how we can overcome those. 1-1 is a good score for us, as much as we shared the spoils the expectation is that we would’ve loved to win the match and we would’ve loved to go to Cairo 2-0, 3-0 up but it is what it is now.
“We just have to go to Egypt with the understanding that go there, score the two goals required and win the match or score the goal required and don’t concede and then come back with the trophy. Hopefully it happens, it would be marvelous to go to the US to the Club World Cup being champions of Africa.”
