Nedbank Cup: Cardoso urges Sundowns to step up against Chiefs

Cardoso: Photo Credit: Mamelodi Sundowns.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says his side needs to push to the limit to overcome Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup semifinal at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.

The Betway Premiership giants, with the CAF Champions League semifinal sealed after a 1-0 aggregate win over Espérance Sportive de Tunis on Tuesday evening, return to domestic battles, facing the struggling Kaizer Chiefs.

In a post-match interview on Friday, 11 April, 2025, Cardoso urged his players to brace for the challenge of meeting the Soweto giants who are enduring a turbulent season.

"Always a very strong team; well coached by coach Nabi [Nasreddine]. We need to take ourselves to the limit if we want to win the match and go to the final of this competition because our objective is to arrive at the decisive moment,” he said.

“We need to push Mamelodi Sundowns to the highest level, not the highest level of motivation but the highest level of capacity, to overcome the difficulties that would naturally appear in a 90-minute match.”

The Portuguese mentor called for a proper context in the approach to the game “considering what we are playing for, the style of the game we are playing for and the type of opponent."

Apart from the Nedbank Cup chase, Sundowns will now face Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League semifinal as they compete on all fronts while also dictating the pace of the Betway Premiership.