Al Ahly’s South Africa Curse Continues In Goalless Draw Against Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly played to an uninspiring goalless draw in their CAF Champions League first-leg semi-final clash at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The highly anticipated encounter between two of the continent’s best teams ended in a disappointing stalemate, despite a large turnout of fans in Pretoria.

The goalless result means Al Ahly continues its winless streak in South Africa in CAF club competitions, having now visited the country 15 times without securing a victory.

A significant boost for Sundowns on the bench was the return of Themba Zwane, who signed a contract extension on Friday. Zwane had been sidelined with a serious knee injury sustained during Bafana Bafana’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Congo in October.  

Zwane has a notable history against Al Ahly, having scored in Sundowns’ emphatic 5-0 quarter-final victory over the Egyptian giants in April 2019 at Lucas Moripe Stadium. The influential midfielder also found the net when Sundowns defeated Al Ahly 5-2 in the group stages two years prior at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

As anticipated, Sundowns largely controlled the flow of the game. Teboho Mokoena, who missed both semi-final legs last season in their 2-0 aggregate loss to ES Tunis, unleashed a shot from distance, but the ball swerved high over the bar. Tashreeq Matthews also had a shot on the turn that went wide.

Despite Sundowns’ dominance in possession, the Egyptian giants remained organized defensively and looked to exploit counter-attacking opportunities.

Coach Miguel Cardoso made a notable change to his defense, dropping Lucas Suarez, who had made a costly error in Sundowns’ 2-1 Nedbank Cup semi-final defeat to Kaizer Chiefs at the same venue on Sunday. Mosa Lebusa partnered Grant Kekana in central defense, and the former Cape Town Spurs player performed well whenever called upon.

As Sundowns continued to dictate play, Al Ahly maintained a tight defensive structure. Their president, Mahmoud El Khatib, watched from the VIP area, wearing a face mask.

On the stroke of halftime, an Emam Ashour cross found Slovenian international Nejc Gradisar, whose header struck the post, with Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams well-beaten. Overall, the first half was a cautious affair lacking clear-cut chances.

Seeking to inject more dynamism into their attack, Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso made a double substitution in the 62nd minute, bringing on Arthur Sales and Iqraam Rayners for Peter Shalulile and Matthews, who had been effectively contained by Al Ahly’s defense.

Cardoso further bolstered his attack in the 70th minute, introducing Zwane in place of Jayden Adams, a substitution that was met with enthusiastic applause from the home crowd. Shortly after Zwane’s introduction, Al Ahly thought they had scored, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review.

As the game progressed, clear chances became scarce, and the match became increasingly fragmented. Al Ahly had another late goal disallowed in added time when Achraf Bencharki was flagged offside.

The tie remains finely balanced, with both African powerhouses set to battle it out for a place in the final in the second leg at Cairo International Stadium on Friday. After Saturday’s stalemate, the winner of this CAF Champions League semi-final will indeed be decided on Friday.