"Sundowns will reach CAF CL semi-finals"

Remo Stars head coach Tiago Conde has made an honest admission about Mamelodi Sundowns' quality and shared his prediction on how far they could go in this season's CAF Champions League. Sundowns secured a comfortable path to the group stage after defeating Remo Stars 2-0 in the second leg of the second preliminary round at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday, sealing a 7-1 aggregate victory. READ | Rulani guides MC Alger to CAF CL group stage The Brazilians had already demonstrated their superiority with a commanding 5-1 win in the first leg in Abeokuta, highlighting their pedigree in continental competitions. Downs, who finished as runners-up to Egyptian Premier League side Pyramids FC in the 2024/25 CAF Champions League final, have been a consistent force in recent editions, regularly reaching the quarterfinal and semi-final stages. Reflecting on his team's defeat, Conde acknowledged Sundowns' dominance in the competition over the years and backed the Tshwane-based outfit to once again go far in the tournament. Conde believes that the Betway Premiership reigning champions, led by Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso, are capable of reaching at least the semi-finals this season, if not the final. "I am expecting that Mamelodi [Sundowns] will be amongst three or four teams [in the semi-finals], the teams with the capacity to win this competition," Conde told the media after the match. "I cannot see more teams with this capacity Sundowns have. They have a mix of players, South African players, Brazilian players, and Portuguese players, as well as a Portuguese coach, so I'm sure. READ | Simba coach gracious in defeat to Chiefs "I don't know if they become champions in the national competition, but in the CAF competition, I'm expecting they can be champions," he added. "I cannot bet, but if [they reach] the quarter-finals, I am sure Sundowns will be one of the teams in the semi-finals, and another three. So, if they get to the semi-finals, now they are ready to get to the final and win." Sundowns will discover their group stage opponents when the draw is conducted on Monday, November 3, in Johannesburg.