Legend Hlompho Kekana backs Mamelodi Sundowns to excell at Club World Cup

Mamelodi Sundowns’ legend Hlompho Kekana says the current crop of players have a chance to do better at the Club World Cup compared to the class of 2016.

Sundowns will be back at the global showpiece which is scheduled to get underway on Saturday in the United States (US).

Their last participation in the tournament was nearly nine years ago in Japan after they won their maiden CAF Champions League crown.

That event exposed that they are still far-off from being a well-oiled machine as they lost their two games to Kashima Antlers and Jeonbuk Motors respectively.

However, the play-offs format has since changed heading to the upcoming event in America as the football governing body, FIFA, has extended the event to 32 teams.

As such, Sundowns are pitted in Group F alongside Ulsan Hyundai, Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense respectively.

With group winners and the runners-up finishers guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage, Kekana wants the Brazilians to soar to the next round after the group stage.

“I would love to see them getting out of the group because this time around the format is different from when we were in Japan,” Kekana explained.

“This time around you have three games that you are guaranteed to play, so yeah, if you win two games then you are out of the group.

“I would love to see them going to the knockout stage, that’s when you’ll see how far they are in terms of the level. 

“But I do believe that they have what it takes to get to that level and compete. For me, I was still a player, I was going to use the space to learn a lot.”

Sundowns are at the World Cup still hurting as they are on the back of losing out on the CAF Champions League crown after losing to Pyramids in the final hurdle.

However, they have no room to show their vulnerability as they must compete at the event and represent the continent and South Africa with pride.

“When you are at Sundowns, really, there’s no time to sulk or feel sad. You just have to dust yourself off and continue with the matches,” Kekana added.

“You just have to look at their schedule, it has been tight. From the beginning of the season, they’ve had to juggle every competition.

“So, this is the moment that they need to embrace. When I spoke to some of them, I said this is a rare moment.

“In football you don’t find these a lot where you find yourself competing in the world. I think if you take this moment fully, you’ll enjoy it.

“Two weeks ago they were sad, and this is after celebrating winning the league, so this is the  moment to show what they have got as a team.”

Sundowns will open their campaign against Ulsan on Wednesday next week, and given the unpopularity of the South Korean side, they are expected to win the game.

Kekana knows the importance of winning the opener in major tournaments, especially after Bafana Bafana had to dig deep to finish third at the last Afcon after losing the opener in Ivory Coast

“The first game is always important, and luckily in this team, some of the boys played in the Afcon, so they’ll remember why winning in the group stage is important,” he said.

“I do believe that those experiences will come into play this time around simply because now they are in the World stage.”