'Mamelodi Sundowns boast some of Africa's best players' - Miguel Cardoso | OneFootball

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Cardoso on strength of Downs squad

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/ BackPagePix

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says his team has some of the best players on the African continent.

This comes after the Tshwane giants ran riot in the Morupule Charity Spectacular four-team tournament in Botswana last Friday.

Cardoso's men beat Sua Flamingoes 3-0 in the semi-final, before thumping Morupule Wanderers 6-0 to walk away as champions of the competition.

When quizzed on the standard of football in Botswana, the Portuguese mentor stated that it would be unfair to compare Downs to teams in the semi-professional Botswana topflight as his side has the continent's best.

“It's important to understand that this team of Mamelodi Sundowns has some of the best players on the continent. So, we should not compare the value of this team. I can tell that in the pre-season for example, we played against one team from Botswana and it was not so easy to do it,” said Cardoso.

However, Cardoso believes the level of football in Botswana has the potential to grow, urging the stakeholders to invest more time in youth football and education of the coaches in order to prepare for a better future.

“So, I think that there was two different approaches to the matches. In the first match we had a team that tried to secure, playing more from the back, defend more. In the final the team was more aggressive, to press high,” he added.

"But they gave us a lot of spaces in the back and we are very lethal to use those spaces when we have them. But big respect for what we saw in the matches, it was two teams that tried to make their best. For sure the football is developing in the country.

"And it's important to work in the grassroots with the youth so that the youngsters can make a statement in the future, and the education of the coaches also. I don't have much more knowledge on the football in the country so that I can speak deeper. But I think there was fair play and some good things on the pitch.

Meanwhile, after a below-par first round of the 2025/26 campaign, Sundowns will return to action with a Betway Premiership clash against Orbit College on 20 January 2026.