Break a delight for Sundowns as a flood of games awaits them
'This is a break that is necessary for a team like ours, the players must refresh,' said Downs coach Manqoba Mngqithi.
Mamelodi Sundowns have welcomed the Fifa break as a plethora of games await them when the DStv League resumes. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
The focus now is on the international break where nations across the globe are battling for a place in the 2022 Fifa World Cup to be staged in Qatar and all fingers are crossed for Bafana Bafana to advance from Group G into the playoffs. Hugo Broos’ side are playing Zimbabwe on Thursday and will travel to Ghana to play the Black Stars on Sunday.
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With those hopes held up high, Mamelodi Sundowns coaches are looking ahead to the storm that will come after the break, where there will be a flood of DStv Premiership games.
Masandawana are leading the pack in the league but they have played a game fewer than most and, Manqoba Mngqithi bemoans the fixtures that are coming, saying the break is welcomed at Downs as they have already played a total of 15 games in the league, MTN8 and Caf Champions League.
Downs will face Cape Town City after the break in what will be a repeat of the MTN8 final, and after that, they are scheduled to take on crosstown rivals SuperSport United, who they face again in about two weeks. After the derby, the Brazilians will take on foes Orlando Pirates and will have to wait until the latter stages of the season to take on Stuart Baxter’s Kaizer Chiefs.
“This is a break that is necessary for a team like ours because we have had far too many matches in a short space of time and the players must refresh a bit so that when they come back they will be rejuvenated,” said the Sundowns co-head coach.
“The marathon that we are going to have after this Fifa break is going to be harsh for every team in the league because after the break we are probably going to play a lot of matches and that is not going to be easy for many teams, many teams will crumble there and it will give us a benefit to acquire many points before the Christmas break,” Mngqithi added.
