Secret revealed? Grant Kekana states what Mamelodi Sundowns should show to beat Al Ahly and reach Caf Champions League final - 'It’s all about applying ourselves'

Bafana Bafana defender has explained what Mamelodi Sundowns must apply in order to see their Caf Champions League ambition succeed.

The Brazilians are among the semi-finalists this season and will face African giants Al Ahly in the last four. To beat the Egyptian heavyweights, Kekana wants his teammates to show hunger and determination during the showdown.

“We know how good and how well Al Ahly have done in the Champions League and the past two or three seasons; we’ve been limited to only this [semi-final] stage," Kekana said, as quoted by SPORTSWIRE.

“It’s all about applying ourselves, having the right attitude, and fighting for the badge so that we can get a positive result," he added.

Kekana believes, through experience, Sundowns are now mature enough to challenge for the continental title, which they last won in 2016.

"We’ve paid our school fees; I think we are mature enough to understand that we know what we need to do on the day," he explained.

“What I mean by maturity is that we’ve been in this competition, and we’ve consistently reached this stage of the competition, and we fell short. I think we’ve accepted it as a group because a lot of us have been together for quite some time, and we've learnt what we lacked and what made us fall short.

“So, I think with all that we’ve learnt and with the coach who was in the final last year, us coming together, I think it gives us the confidence that we’ve learnt from our past mistakes, and hopefully going into these two legs, we’ll be able to minimize those mistakes so that we give ourselves an advantage to get into the final," the PSL winner stated.

Sundowns' quest to win the coveted African clubs' trophy has suffered setbacks in recent seasons.

In the 2022-23 season, they were eliminated by Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca in the semi-final. In the following campaign, they exited the competition at the same stage, this time around at the hands of Esperance of Tunisia.

Under Miguel Cardoso, the man who guided the Tunisia outfit last season against them, the Tshwane giants have reached the last four and are closer to winning the second Champions League star.

But Al Ahly, the perennial African champions, stand in their way. However, Kekana believes they can beat their opponents, reach the final, and bring home the trophy.

Sundowns are keen to avoid another semi-final setback, which, if it happens, will follow their heartbreaking exit from the Nedbank Cup at the same stage.

The Pretoria-based club will host Al Ahly on April 19 before travelling north to Cairo for the second leg, set to be staged on April 25.

After the continental assignment, they will focus on PSL title defence with two games against Richards Bay and Cape Town City next.