Maema Sad To Leave Brothers Behind For Club World Cup

Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema has expressed his disappointment with his teammates for not being chosen to make the final 23-man squad for the FIFA Club World Cup.

The tournament, which will start on June 14 and end on July 15, features Sundowns drawn with Fluminense, Ulsan, and Borussia Dortmund in Group F.

The Brazilians, who travelled on Sunday to the United States, will look to prepare for their opening game against the South Korea-based outfit, Ulsan, at Inter & Co Stadium on 18 June.

Players like Jody February and Thapelo Maseko are a few of the players who didn’t make the squad, hence Maema feels disappointed, but noted that this is a big club and you have to compete for your spot.

“Making the squad, I am happy, obviously disappointed for the ones who didn’t make it. But it’s competition. It’s a big club,” said Maema.

“I feel for them because they are my brothers, but I am looking forward to the experience of the Club World Cup.”

The 29-year-old, who has struggled to break into the Tshwane giants’ starting lineup this season, has been included in the squad for the Club World Cup.

Maema mentioned that he always knew that he would make the squad, considering that qualifying for this tournament was the work of the players who were here two years ago.

“I always knew that I would make the squad,” Maema said. “It’s not being arrogant, but I feel like this is the work of the players who were here like two years ago. We qualified for the Club World Cup two seasons ago, I think, to be exact.

“Sometimes when you are still on the team, you just have to eat the fruits of the work you’ve put in.”

This will be the second time Sundowns are participating in the Club World Cup after the 2016 edition, where they entered having won the CAF Champions League trophy. They qualified for this expanded tournament due to the CAF ranking pathway.