Kaizer Chiefs coach speaks on 'Group of death' ahead of finale | OneFootball

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Chiefs coach weighs in on 'Group of death'

Photo: Phillip Maeta/ Gallo Images

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has weighed in on the tough competition in Group D ahead of the high-stakes penultimate matches at the weekend.

The Soweto giants top the group of death with 10 points, while Egyptian heavyweights Zamalek SC sit second with eight points, as fellow Egyptians Al Masry SC closely trail in third with seven points.

Chiefs will visit Zamalek on Sunday, while bottom-placed ZESCO United, who shockingly beat the White Knights travel to Al Masry on the same day.

With the finale looming, Ben Youssef has admitted his team is in the toughest group, with a new team occupying the summit after each matchday - a testament to the unpredictability of the group.

“I think when we received the draw we said that the most difficult group will be our group. I mean competing against one of the biggest team in Egypt Zamalek, Al Masry also they've got a lot of experience - they have played this competition in the last few seasons,” he said.

"For us, we have been out of this competition for the last five years. More than 80% or 85% of our players, it's the first time they play this kind of competition. You see the results, every week a new team is number one.

"Coming back from Zambia with three points, people think it was easy, but it was very tough for us. We spent a lot of energy, it's hot, it's a difficult pitch. You saw today [Sunday] the result of Zamalek they lost against Zesco.

"I think it's a difficult group, we have to continue to fight and I think to be honest the three teams deserve to qualify but those are the rules - two of us will be qualified.

Though Chiefs failed to collect maximum points in their first two outings, the Tunisian mentor says they approached every match like a cup game, with the team now in pole position to advance to the knockout stages.

“To be honest from the beginning we said that for us the first important thing is to compete and take each game as a cup game and when we finish the six games we'll see if we are qualified,” Ben Youssef added.

"We are happy for this and if we are not qualified, also we are happy for the players because they performed very well and they fought every game. It's a difficult group, it's a very tough group. Playing against Zamalek in Egypt, no one can say it will be an easy game.

"It will be a difficult game with the experience that they have. We expect to qualify, yes, but to finish number one or number two we don't know. For us we'll have the next game as a final cup [match]. We have to compete, continue to fight to qualify.