Sundowns backed by impressive record in Egypt as they meet Pyramids in Cairo

Mamelodi Sundowns will be backed by an impressive record in Egypt when they take on Pyramids FC in the Champions League final second leg at the June 30 Stadium on Sunday. 

The Brazilians travelled this week to Cairo for the second leg with the tie evenly balanced at 1-1 from the first leg at Loftus, where Pyramids equalised in the dying seconds of added time on Saturday. On Sunday, a winner must be produced. 

Sundowns will lift the trophy for the second time with a win or a draw of 2-2 or higher in Egypt and a 1-1 draw will take the tie to a penalty shoot-out. A 0-0 draw would see Pyramids triumph on away goals and become the first new winners of the tournament since Sundowns did it in 2016 under former coach Pitso Mosimane. 

As they left for North Africa this week, Sundowns did so with the knowledge that statistics are on their side, one of the most telling, perhaps, being they are unbeaten in their last 10 matches against Egyptian clubs. 

More impressive perhaps is their record in Egypt — Sundowns have not lost in their last four visits to Cairo, a city they visit almost every year on Champions League assignments. In their last 10 matches in the competition, Sundowns are on a run of four wins and six draws, while they have recorded two wins and as many draws over the last four visits to Egypt. 

There could be some psychological advantage gained too by the knowledge Downs beat Al Ahly's bitter Cairo foes Zamalek in the 2016 final (3-1 on aggregate; 3-0 in Pretoria and a 1-0 defeat in Alexandria in the return leg).

Downs' escapades have toughened them, not just against Egyptian teams in their nine years competing regularly in the Champions League group and knockout stages, but also against many North African giants and in tough venues at the roof of the continent. This has steeled them for what they will encounter on Sunday against Pyramids. Their opponents are also a team that does not command a huge fan base — supporters in Egypt are monopolised by Ahly and Zamalek — despite their successes on the field, hence the small, 30,000-seat June 30 venue.

Though they boast a good record in Egypt, it is not going to be easy for them when you consider Pyramids have won all seven home games in this season's Champions League, scoring 26 goals and conceding only six. 

This is the fourth meeting between the two clubs. They faced each other in the group stages of the 2023-24 Champions League where they drew 0-0 in Pretoria before Sundowns won 1-0 in Cairo thanks to a goal by Teboho Mokoena.   

It is also worth mentioning that Sundowns are unbeaten in their last nine games across all competitions (W6 D3), with their last defeat coming against Kaizer Chiefs in their Nedbank Cup semifinal. 

Hlompho Kekana, who lifted the trophy in 2016, said the experience of Ronwen Williams, Khuliso Mudau, Grant Kekana, Thapelo Morena, Mothobi Mvala, Aubrey Modiba, Themba Zwane, Teboho Mokoena, Marcelo Allende and Lucas Ribeiro is going to be crucial in major moments. 

“We all know that in a game of football, there are moments. A team like Mamelodi Sundowns who have been in the space for long, understands the demands,” he said. 

“You go into competition to see how the opposition will react in certain moments. We used to laugh about these things, saying the Champions League game is like a game of chess.

“How you usually play at home is not how you play in the Champions League. You are playing against teams that are more or less the same level as you are. They are champions where they come from and they will give you a game model that you give them. 

“You saw the goal that Pyramids scored in the first leg, it is a similar goal that we scored where Khuliso Mudau overlaps and he put the ball to the D line where Lucas Ribeiro was. 

“That is how you respond to moments, some of these players won the bronze medal at Afcon last year and they understand the demands of this competition. I don’t want to sit here and sound like a coach, but they know the moments where they should kill the game.”