Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena is unfazed by the high expectations of facing Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the African Football League [AFL] semi-finals.
The Tshwane giants booked a place in the AFL semis after beating Angolan side 2-0 Petro de Luanda 2-0 over the two-legged tie.
In the first leg away from home in Angola, Sundowns won 2-0 with Marcelo Allende and Thapelo Maseko on target last week.
And the return leg at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday evening, the Brazilians with 10-man played out to a goalless draw with Petro.
Mothiba Mvala was shown a red card after committing a professional in the early stages of the game. On the other hand, Al Ahly advanced to the semi-finals via the away-goal rule following a 3-3 draw with Simba SC of Tanzania in two legs.
The second leg in Cairo on Tuesday ended 1-1 after a 2-2 draw at Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium last Friday.
With Mamelodi Sundowns set to clash with Al Ahly in Pretoria on Sunday for the semi-final first-leg, Rulani Mokwena said he is excited, and his troops will be gunning for a win before the return leg in Egypt on Wednesday, 1 November.
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RULANI’S REACTION TO FACING AL AHLY IN AFRICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE SEMIS
“The Al Ahly fixture is interesting. It’s always interesting because it has got a lot, it’s two very good teams [facing each other],” said Mokwena.
“Of course, they have got very good players.I watched a little bit of the game they played away in Tanzania, which ended 2-2.
“They have got a special kid [Percy Tau] that I love so dearly. So, I’m excited to see what happens. It should be a very interesting game. We will do our best to always try to win,” added Mokwena.
The game is expected to produce fireworks as in the past when the two African powerhouses locked horns.