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Another trip to North Africa is awaiting Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarterfinals of the CAF Champions League.
The Brazilians are keenly waiting for today’s draw in Cairo to see who they will face in the last eight of the continent’s premier event.
The draw will also determine the path of each team until the final match, as no separate draw will be held before the semi-finals.
Finishing on top of their group – unbeaten – means Sundowns are one of the four seeded sides going into the draw and thus will have the advantage of playing the second leg at home.
Sundowns have also avoided potential clashes against DR Congo giants TP Mazembe‚ the Tunisian duo of Étoile du Sahel and holders Espérance de Tunis‚ or Moroccans Wydad Casablanca‚ who were in the same Group C as them in the group stages.
They are going to be drawn against one of the Egyptian duo of Zamalek and Al-Ahly‚ or another Moroccan side in Raja Casablanca. Al-Ahly finished second in their group with 11 points while Zamalek also ranked second in the first group with nine points.
Sundowns finished top of their group on 14 points after winning four of their six games, with two matches ending in stalemates. Their two draws were away in Morocco and Angola.
READ: Why it’s important for Sundowns to finish top of the CAF table
The last eight of the Champions League is dominated by North African countries with six clubs with only Sundowns and TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo completing the pool.
Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane should be less worried about who they will face in the next round as he seems to have figured out how to beat North Africans.
Downs have two North African sides Wydad Casablanca or Morocco and USM Alger of Algeria.
The quarter-final matches are played on February 28th and 29th. The return matches will be played on March 6 and 7.
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