All eyes will be in Doha on Thursday afternoon with Orlando Pirates among the teams that will discover who they will be facing in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League.
The Qatari capital will be hosting the live draw to determine the first ties of the knockout phase of the competition along with the possible matchups in the semifinals.
The 1995 champions have a keen interest in the proceedings as they remain in the hunt for the most prestigious prize in African interclub competition.
They dominated a tough Group C, finishing unbeaten with an impressive 14 points – the biggest tally in the group stage. As group winners, Pirates are one of four seeded teams heading into the draw and will face one of the second-placed teams in the other groups, as well as host the decisive second leg of their quarter-final tie. Group C runners-up Al Ahly is excluded from their list of prospective opponents for this stage of the competition. They also get to avoid Sudanese giants Al Hilal, Tunisia’s Esperance, as well as AS FAR from Morocco – all winners of their respective groups.
This means that the possible rivals in the last eight are narrowed down to the other three runners-up, and orlandopiratesfc.com takes a look at each of the teams that could soon be lining up against the Buccaneers.
MC Alger (Algeria)
Coached by legendary Tunisian defender Khaled Ben Yahia, the Algerian outfit are gunning for their second Champions League title, nearly 50 years since they were crowned champions in 1976. They finished second to Al Hilal in a tough Group A and were the best defensive side across the 16 teams that competed in the previous round with just two goals conceded in their six matches. Currently at the summit of Algerian Ligue 1, MC Alger are looking to progress past the last eight for the first time since their historic triumph.
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
A team that will need no introduction to the Bucs faithful as their rivalry with the Soweto Giants stretches well over half a century. The one-time champions were second to AS FAR in Group B, separated by only a single point. A perennial feature in the knockouts since claiming the 2016 title, Sundowns have managed to secure a semifinal berth in each of the last two editions of the tournament.
Pyramids (Egypt)
The youngest club still remaining among the contenders, Pyramids made their mark in front of goal in the previous round of the ongoing competition where they finished with the joint highest goal tally – tied on 14 points with domestic rivals Al Ahly. Only goal difference prevented the team coached by ex-Croatian international Krunoslav Jurčić from claiming top spot in Group D, with Esperance clinching the honour. Yet to make a significant mark in this particular competition, the Egyptians know how to navigate the knockout rounds in continental football having finished as Confederation Cup runners-up in 2020.
The Champions League draw will get underway at 16:00 (SAST) and will be televised live on SuperSport PSL and SABC Sport.
