Sundowns deserve to lift African Football League trophy – Mokwena

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena believes the Brazilians deserve to win the inaugural African Football League (AFL).

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Sundowns lost 2-1 to Wydad Casablanca in the first leg of the AFL final away last week and they host the Moroccan outfit in the second leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is at 3pm.

“Last season, we were clearly the best team in the Champions League and it is unfortunate that we never made it to the final.

“Furthermore, our players have worked hard, shown loyalty to each other and they deserve to win this trophy,” said Mokwena.

Mokwena is anticipating a tough clash against Wydad on Sunday.

“It is going to be a difficult game considering that it will be or first our major final match since 2016. We are up against a team that has been in the last two Champions League finals as well as the last seven Champions League semi-finals,” continued Mokwena.

Meanwhile, Waydad coach Adil Ramzi admitted that both teams have a chance of winning the inaugural AFL trophy.

“It is a big game and being the last one, every one wants to win. We won 2-1 in the first leg which was a good result for us. However, it is still 50/50 chance for either team to win,” he said.

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Wydad will be without their influential captain Yahya Jabrane, who is out injured.

“Jabrane is a very important player for us and that is why we have carried him to motivate the rest of the squad. However, for me as a coach iam looking at the whole group and not just one player.

“This is a big match and every player is motivated to play. We will do our best to win this trophy,” concluded Ramzi.