Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has weighed in on the performance of African clubs at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with all four representatives having crashed out of the global showpiece in the group stages.

With Africa pinning its hopes on their shoulders, the South African champions were the last African team to exit the tournament following a goalless draw with Brazilian side Fluminense, which saw them register a third-place finish with four points accumulated as they beat Ulsan HD of South Korea.

While Masandawana managed to score more goals than any other African side, Esperance de Tunis also recorded a respectable finish in third place with three points amassed from a solitary win against LAFC and two defeats to Flamengo and English Premier League side Chelsea FC.

Meanwhile, record 12-time African champions Al Ahly and Wydad Athletic Club finished at the bottom of their respective groups. The Egyptian champions picked up two points from two draws and one defeat, while the Moroccan giants lost all three group stage outings to finish their campaign with zero points.

In the wake of the below-par showing, the Downs mentor came to the defense of the African clubs, acknowledging that all four teams are in different stages of their respective projects, although he admits his former and current teams had a solid foundation to build on.

“It’s important to understand that the four teams from Africa, that were in the [FIFA Club World Cup] competition, are in different moments,” said Cardoso when quizzed on the standard of African football at the World Cup.

“I didn’t coach Ahly, I coached Esperance, and Esperance is a team that has a good group of players that come from being together for several years, despite that they changed the coach twice already in a season. They have a very strong group, so that means they arrived at the Club World Cup with a core, a very strong core.

“It’s like Sundowns, despite that Sundowns started the process with me eight months ago. It’s a team that has a group of players that come from being together for many years, it’s a club that has a strong identity.”

Cardoso went on to highlight that, despite their continental and global stature, Al Ahly and Wydad are currently undergoing a transitional period, which makes it hard for results to be forthcoming on the spin with recently installed new leaders in the dugout.

“Ahly also has a strong identity, but changed the coach one month ago, and Wydad also changed the coach one month ago. So, those teams are in the process of rehabilitation with new ideas,” the 53-year-old tactician added.

“What is clear and what everybody needs to understand is that African football nowadays doesn’t relate to the image it had back in the past. The teams are very organized, the coaches have quality, and Africa in general is quality.

“The best teams are importing, not only foreign players of quality, but of course also coaches of quality, and that applies for the other teams to seek improvement as well. I’m very excited about working in Africa, I was very excited with my experience in Tunisia, same as I am excited with Sundowns.”