Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana believes the Brazilians used the international break to their advantage despite the pause coming as they built momentum following their progress in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
Sundowns had 15 key players away representing Bafana Bafana, Uganda and Zimbabwe in AFCON qualifiers before returning to face Orlando Pirates in Saturday’s MTN8 final.
While the disruption has made preparations less than ideal, Kekana insists there were positives to take from the break as Sundowns look to quickly regain their rhythm and secure another trophy on the biggest stage at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“Yeah, obviously we would have loved to keep the momentum on a good wicket, but I think it also gave us time to re-energise, to plan again properly,” says Kekana.
“I think we’ve used this break to do that and that’s why I’m saying, as much as we had eight, nine guys away on international duty. The ones that stayed showed the same desire and commitment and we knew that once the break is over we’ll be headed to a final. So, it could be good or bad, but I think we used it to our advantage.”
With Pirates having become a dominant force in this cup competition over the last four seasons, Kekana insisted Sundowns would have to get their own approach right to dethrone the Soweto giants.
“I think it’s just for us to play till the final whistle, you know. Focus on what we can control and not focus too much on what we can’t. I think a lot of the time maybe we just steered away from what we could control and I think this time around it’s just about us making sure that we focus on what we can control,” he adds.
MTN8 final | Football fever hits KZN
Focused and ready for our return to action!
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— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 8, 2026
