Ivan Toney and Edouard Mendy are two of Al Ahli’s notable talismans who have travelled to South Africa to face Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of the two teams’ clash in the Fifa African-Asian-Pacific Cup final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (3pm).
Toney and Mendy made their global breakthroughs in the EPL, where they played for Brentford and Chelsea, while they are internationals with England and Senegal, respectively.
However, it’s at Ahli where they’ve been plying their trade in recent years, helping the team win back-to-back AFC Champions League.
Ahli’s triumph last season drew them against Oceania Champions League champions, Auckland City, in a decider that saw the winners face CAF Champions League winners, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Ahli prevailed 1-0 in that clash at home. They’ll now face Sundowns in Pretoria for a place in the Challenger Cup, where they’ll face either the Concacaf Champions Cup winners or the South American champions, who’ll be crowned in November. The winner of the Challenger Cup will face UEFA Champions League champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Intercontinental Cup final late in the year.
Ahli will arrive in the nation’s capital slightly low on morale. They started their continental defence on a mild note, drawing with Pakhtakor in their last game. They’ve blown hot and cold in the league as well after winning four games and losing three in their first seven matches.
Hosts, Sundowns, meanwhile, are on a high. They are yet to start their continental title defence, having been busy with domestic football, where they are top of the log with 20 points and are in the MTN8 final, where they’ll face rivals Orlando Pirates on October 20.
Aside from their near-flawless start, Sundowns are expected to be fuelled by Masandawana in the stands, painting Loftus yellow and green to intimidate the Saudi Arabians, with the hope that they can blow the wind out of the sails of players like Toney and Mendy.
