“African Super”: Ittihad Al-Capital to surprise Sundowns in its home

USM Algeria is looking for a surprise in the African Super Cup when it defeats the wounded South African Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday in Pretoria, inspired by its achievement in the 2017 edition when it overthrew Al-Ahly of Egypt.

This confrontation, scheduled for 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT), brings together Sundowns, who won the Super Cup in 2017, at the expense of the Democratic Republic of the Congolese Mazembe 1-0, and Ittihad Al-Capital, the holder of the title in 2023, following its surprising victory over Al-Ahly of Egypt 1-0 in the Saudi city of Taif.

Mamelodi Sundowns booked their place in this match after winning the Champions League title for the second time in May, after defeating the Royal Moroccan Army 2-1 on aggregate in the final. While Ittihad Al-Capital won the Confederation Cup for the second time, after 2023, over Zamalek of Egypt on penalties 8-7 after a 1-1 draw on aggregate in the final.

The winner of the match supervised by Mauritanian referee Dahan Bede will receive $500,000, while the runner-up will receive $250,000.

The two teams have previously met twice on the continent, with Sundowns winning both matches during the group stage of the Champions League in the 2020 season. The South African team won 1-0 in Algeria, before confirming its superiority with a 2-1 victory at home.

USMA started the local season with momentum. After 7 rounds, it occupies fourth place in the Algerian league with 14 points, three behind leaders CS Belouizdad.

The team's last match before heading to Pretoria, on Wednesday, witnessed its victory over CS Constantine 2-0 on October 31, thanks to a brace scored by young striker Mohamed Lamine Ramdaoui.

On the continental level, USMA will defend its title in the Confederation Cup starting in the group stage. After being exempted from competing in the first preliminary round, the team did not participate in the second preliminary round after its competitor, The Panthers, from Equatorial Guinea, withdrew.

He is supervised by veteran coach Lamine Ndiaye, who returned to training in February. The Senegalese coach previously led Mazembe to the Champions League title in 2010, two Super Cups (2010 and 2011), in addition to reaching the 2010 Club World Cup final.

Ndiaye shows great respect for the competitor; He described Mamelodi as “the best club in Africa,” stressing at the same time that his team would head to Pretoria with great determination to cause a surprise.

In turn, player Abdul Raouf bin Ghaith said: “We will face a strong team, and their style of play is different from ours, and this will not scare us.”

The “Sons of Sustara”, who are absent from their ranks, winger Hossam Ghesha and attacking midfielder Mohamed Bouderbala due to injury, are counting on goalkeeper Osama Ben Bout, who joined Al-Ittihad Al-Asimah in August 2021 after a successful period with JS Kabylie.

The 32-year-old was called up to the Algerian national team squad participating in the 2026 World Cup, and played his first official match with the “Desert Warriors” as a starter during the group stage against Austria.

For its part, Mamelodi enters this match in the midst of its local season, after winning the elite MTN 8 Cup title last month. The team currently leads the league standings after 10 matches, one point ahead of Orlando Pirates, who have a game in hand.

However, the disappointment of the team nicknamed “Brazilian” came with Sundowns’ exit from the African Champions League this season, after losing the second preliminary round match against Angola’s Willet on the away goals rule.

He has been supervised by Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso since December 2024, and is looking forward to adding a new title to his record, which includes the South African League and the African Champions League.

Cardoso's coaching career included supervising the clubs Rio Ave of Portugal, Nantes of France, Celta Vigo of Spain, and AEK Athens of Greece, before leading Tunisian Esperance to the Champions League final in 2024.

He relies on the beating heart of midfielder Teboho Mokoena, after he has built a remarkable career since joining the club in 2022.