Mamelodi Sundowns’ star left-back, Aubrey Modiba, has explained why they cannot afford to lose to Orlando Pirates with the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals looming.
The two Gauteng giants are scheduled to meet in Saturday’s eagerly anticipated Betway Premiership encounter at the 2010 FIFA World Cup venue, Loftus Versfeld Stadium, in Pretoria.
Sundowns and Pirates are perennial league title contenders, and their players tend to dominate coach Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana squads.
“I think with Pirates, if you can check the last few seasons, this is the team that has been pushing us, especially in the league, towards the end,” Modiba told reporters.
“That gives us extra motivation playing against them, and even other teams as well, I think it is because of that and, obviously, the banter in the national team.
“We do have the same number of players. We always talk about this game, and we don’t want to lose to them going into the national team because the banter is going to be something else as players,” he added.
“But mostly, it’s because they’ve been doing well in the league, pushing us to the limit. Taking three points from them helps us towards the end to have an edge over them in clinching the title.”
Broos will pin Bafana’s hopes of reaching the AFCON final in Morocco on Sundowns and Pirates players after the team reached the semi-finals during the 2023 edition in the Ivory Coast and scooped bronze medals.
