Cardoso’s Adams and Zwane poser

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso faces a serious selection poser for the decisive Champions League semifinal second clash against Al Ahly in Cairo with mounting calls to start Themba Zwane ahead of Jayden Adams on Friday.

Any scoring draw or straight win in the second leg in Cairo will see the Brazilians make it to the final for the first time since they won the tournament in 2016.

Sundowns played to a 0-0 draw with the Red Devils at Loftus on Saturday where talismanic captain Themba Zwane made his long-awaited return to action after seven months out injured.

Zwane played for the first time this season when he was introduced in the 70th minute to replace Adams in the first leg where he looked his usual self with deft touches on the ball and finding the right passes.

Because of that, there are calls for Cardoso to start with Zwane ahead of Adams in the second leg because of the 35-year-old Bafana Bafana veteran’s big match temperament and huge experience, having delivered the goods in such high stakes matches many times in a glittering career.

Asked to reflect on Zwane’s return since he got injured with Bafana Bafana in October, goalkeeper Denis Onyango said he would be important in coming weeks. “You saw the stadium was up [when he came on]. He is the captain of the team and it was good to have him back on the field after such a long time. He is influential in the team, youngsters in the team love him, the country and the team love him.”

Sundowns are still batting on two fronts — in the Champions League and Premier Soccer League — and Onyango says Zwane will be key for them if they go all the way. “When he is on the pitch things happen because he knows how to look after the ball and find the right passes. I just hope he gets the match fitness he needs and help the team towards the end of the season.”

In Zwane’s absence, Cardoso used Adams with success. Now he faces the difficult decision of who to start in this crucial game.

“Everybody understands that Themba comes from a long period where he did not play, the medical and performance departments did a good job in order to recover him,” said Cardoso.

“I am happy he is back because he is a human being who struggled a lot while out for a long period. I followed the steps of his recovery and he invested a lot in that.”

Cardoso also spoke about the return to fitness of defender Mothobi Mvala, saying: “There is also Mvala who is coming back, they are players with experience and give stability and energy in the group and I believe they will help us until the end of the season.”

Sundowns failed to score against Al Ahly in the first leg but Onyango is confident they can finish the job in Cairo. “We did not concede. That has left it open because we know we can score there. We have won in Cairo before. Our goal is to go to the final and we are looking forward to it.

“The game will be more open in Cairo than it was in Pretoria. There is a little disappointment because we are used to winning at home. Normally we score at home but in this match we didn’t have shots on target but its because they were disciplined.”

The other player who may get a chance to play is Thapelo Morena who scored in Sundowns’ 1-0 win over Al Ahly in Cairo in 2022.