Sundowns coach Cardoso mulls fielding Bafana players

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has some tough personnel decisions to make for their next two matches in quick succession against Sekhukhune United and Esperance de Tunis in the Nedbank Cup and Champions League.

The Brazilians host Sekhukhune in their Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Friday (7pm) and return to action on Tuesday against Tunisian giants Esperance in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal at Loftus Stadium.

The headache for Cardoso is how to manage Bafana Bafana players Ronwen Williams, Khuliso Mudau, Teboho Mokoena, Jayden Adams, Bathusi Aubaas, Iqraam Rayners and Thapelo Morena. 

His Bafana contingent were part of the national team’s 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying wins over Lesotho and Benin (both 2-0) on Friday and Tuesday, which included a long-haul trip to the Ivory Coast for the second match. 

Cardoso’s challenges are not only limited to Bafana players as he has Zimbabwean Divine Lunga and Namibian Peter Shalulile who travelled to Nigeria and Malawi.

Lunga played qualifying matches against Nigeria and Benin while Shalulile represented his country against Malawi and Equatorial Guinea, where they experienced mixed results. 

For SA, goalkeeper Williams, Mudau, Aubaas, Morena and Adams played in the two matches against Lesotho and Benin, while Mokoena and Rayners played only once and may feature against Sekhukhune.

This situation does not represent a crisis for Cardoso because of depth in his squad, where players such as Mosa Lebusa, Asekho Tiwani, Lucas Suárez, Marcelo Allende, Sphelele Mkhulise, Lucas Ribeiro, Tashreeq Matthews and Arthur Sales can easily step in.

Sundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango said they have no choice but to press on, despite their challenges. 

“We would have loved to have played [this match against Sekhukhune] a few weeks ago, but it was postponed. We were in camp and slept at the hotel [but the match did not happen],” said Onyango, adding players will be ready for the clash.

“Some of the guys were with the national team but we have no choice but to play these games in the league, the Champions League and Nedbank Cup. The guys will be ready for it and whoever gets the opportunity will do their best. 

“The game on Friday is important because it’s one more before the Champions League against Esperance on Tuesday.” 

Given Downs have not played since their 2-1 defeat to Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium on March 16, just under two weeks ago, Cardoso — apart from looking to reach a Nedbank semifinal — can use the game against Sekhukhune to get his players match ready for the big clash against Esperance.

The Nedbank quarterfinal was delayed partly due to the protracted saga surrounding Royal AM, who have not kicked a ball competitively since December since the club was put under curatorship.

That delayed Sekhukhune’s 2-1 last-16 win against Milford FC (eventually played on March 2) and the quarterfinal against Sundowns was then further delayed by a clash with the Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier between SA and Nigeria at Lucas Moripe Stadium on March 16.