Manqoba Mngqithi weighs in on Mamelodi Sundowns’ CAF Champions League group

Published on by Joel Oliver

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has told his players not to underestimate any of their CAF Champions League opponents if they have to avoid getting shocked in the competition.

Sundowns were drawn in Group B alongside Moroccan giants AS FAR and Raja Casablanca as well as Maniema Union from DR Congo in what is a tricky pool for all teams.

The Brazilians, who reached the semi-final of the competition in the last two seasons, are hoping to go one better this time but must first get out of the group which Mngqithi feels will be very tricky.

Grant Kekana

What does Sundowns coach think of Group B?

“From where I am sitting, I just feel it would be ignorant of us to think AS FAR will be less difficult than Raja. I think both of them are on the rise and are doing very well,” Mngqithi said as quoted by FARPost.

“It will be very difficult to know who is going to be [tough] between Raja and AS FAR because AS FAR has been on the rise. They have done very well in the recent past. Raja was previously one of the dominant teams. They went out, and now they are back again at Wydad’s expense.

“It makes it very complicated, but looking at how Raja performed last season, I see that they did exceptionally well and broke a lot of records.”

Manqoba Mngqithi wary of Congolese side

Mamelodi Sundowns 2
Mamelodi Sundowns, Image – Mamelodi Sundowns

Although Maniema are making it to the group stage for the first time, Mngqithi is still wary of what they bring.

“It’s another banana skin that one [Maniema]. When we played them in 2021, they were a new team that nobody even knew about,” he said.

“We were told that it’s another team that was on the resurgence and the owners were very ambitious. Even when we played them, they were not an easy team to play against.”

Sundowns, who won the Champions League in 2016, have made continental success a priority and Mngqithi is under pressure to deliver after many years of near misses. 

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Joel Oliver

Joel Oliver is a seasoned multimedia sports journalist with a rich background in covering diverse football stories and events in South Africa and beyond.
His extensive coverage spans subjects touching on the PSL, with a focus on the Big Three (Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs & Mamelodi Sundowns), Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.