Mamelodi Sundowns vs AS FAR Rabat: CAF Champions League preview | Football News

South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns will defend 1-0 against Moroccans AS FAR Rabat on Monday in the second leg of the CAF Champions League finals in a match that will be broadcast in over 100 countries.

It is also a game in which Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is under pressure, having lost in the final, and now leading the team in the most important game in the history of African football.

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Al Jazeera Sport is keeping an eye on the match.

How much is at stake in the CAF Champions League final?

The winners of Africa’s biggest club competition will earn a total of $6m plus the chance to win another $500,000 for winning the CAF Super Cup.

On top of that, any club selected as champions at the 70,000-seat Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium must be paid at least $9.5m as entrants to the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.

Sundowns were among four African players at the first international tournament in the United States last year and took home a whopping $12.5m.

Apart from the $9.5m participation fee, he also pocketed an extra $2m for beating South Korea’s Ulsan and $1m for a draw with Brazil’s Fluminense.

The second edition of the World Club Championship is scheduled for 2029, the Egyptian team Pyramids has already secured a place, after defeating Sundowns in the 2025 Champions League.

The pyramids will be joined by the winners of the next three rounds, starting with the competition between AS FAR and Sundowns, who have been African champions once.

Why is Sundowns coach Cardoso in such trouble?

Portuguese Cardoso took the club to the Champions League final, but failed with Tunisian Esperance in 2024 and Sundowns last season.

No manager has reached three consecutive Champions League finals and lost them all since the competition’s inception in 1964.

Portuguese Manuel Jose led Egypt’s Al Ahly to their first straight title since 2005 and won three straight. Ahly’s South African star, Pitso Mosimane, made it three in a row and won two.

In his first season in charge of the Pretoria outfit, Cardoso did not lift a trophy, he did not win any of the three domestic knocks.

How have Sundowns fared in the South African Premiership?

A day before Sundowns face AS FAR, Orlando Pirates have won the South African Premiership by defeating Orbit College, whose relegation was confirmed with a 2-0 defeat.

With Pirates as champions, it ends a remarkable run with Sundowns, who have won the last eight rounds of Africa’s richest league.

If the Sundowns team loses against AS FAR, they will finish the season without winning a trophy, after chasing four in South Africa and one in Africa.

What did Cardoso say about Sundowns’ form?

The 53-year-old Portuguese admitted to the media that Sundowns should have won the first leg last Sunday.

“We could have scored one more goal and created a big opportunity,” said Cardoso. They must be talking about Brayan Leon missing a goalie or a Teboho Mokoena free-kick hitting the post.

“If we take the strength that was shown in the first game into the second leg, we can be African champions again,” he says.

How does the coach of AS FAR Santos meet Cardoso?

In the AS FAR arena will be another Portuguese coach, Alexandre Santos, four years younger than Cardoso. He is looking for his first African Cup.

The difference between the coaches is sharp. Cardoso walks up and down his art space all the time, giving advice.

Santos stands for a long moment, unmoved. Sometimes his hands cover his mouth as he watches what is happening.

“The goal we lost to South Africa was not our fault, but the skill of the Sundowns players,” says Santos, referring to defender Aubrey Modiba’s thunderbolt.

Modiba is likely to miss the second game after being out injured last week. If he is not available, Zimbabwe’s Divine Lungu should take the place.

How has AS FAR Rabat fared in the Moroccan league this season?

AS FAR are one point behind Botola Pro league leaders MAS Fes in the Moroccan league, but hold a game at the top of the table.

The 16-team league has seen AS FAR play 20 of those matches, winning 10 as they remain the only team to remain unbeaten this season.

Only four points separate the top five teams in the league.

Can the South African side end CAF’s dominance in North Africa?

A win for Sundowns would end a run of nine consecutive Champions League titles by North African clubs, including two by Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca, since Sundowns won in 2016.

History provides little insight into potential outcomes, as six clubs led 1-0 in the first legs, three became champions and three failed.

It would not be surprising if the title decider is decided by away goals or penalty shootouts.

In the last round, AS FAR won five times and scored twice at home. Sundowns have won twice, drawn twice and lost twice in away matches.