CAF Champions League
Young Africans SC ready for Al Hilal challenge in CAF Champions League
Tanzania Premier League reigning champions Young Africans SC will host Sudan’s Al Hilal in the first Group A match of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League on Tuesday.
Fresh from hiring a new coach Sead Ramovic a few days, Young Africans will hope to make a good start in the group stage and make use of home advantage at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es salaam.
The German coach who will lead Young Africans SC in his first outing says he is happy to come to a club with the best fans in Africa. “I believe that the fans will come to the field in large numbers to welcome me and support the team so that we can get good results,” said Ramovic.
Young Africans who qualified for the group stage after seeing off Vital’O (Burundi) and Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) in the earlier stages will hope that their key goal poachers Stephane Aziz Ki, Clement Mzizie, Prince Dube and Clatous Chama find their scoring touch. The four players have already netted 13 goals between them in the earlier two rounds.
Bakari Mwamnyeto, the Young Africans SC has made it clear they are aware it will be a very difficult match. “We are well prepared and we shall also count on the fans,” added the captain.
The Sudan giants under the guidance of experienced coach Florent Ibenge have also promised to come out in search of a good start.
“We are going to play against a big opponent who now have a new coach and somethings could have changed. We must adapt well and be at our best to attack and also be able to defend well,” said Ibenge.
Al Hilal who have spent the whole year playing away from home because of the political unrest back in Sudan will look to some of their stars Walieidin Khder Safour and captain Mohamed Abdeirahman Yousif who has already netted three goals in the earlier rounds.
To reach the group stage Ibenge’s team ejected Al Ahly Bengahazi (Libya) and San Pedro (Ivory Coast). The two teams will this time round be all out and try to improve on their performances last season where Young Africans SC lost out to Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) at the quarter-final stage, while Al Hilal failed to go past the group stage.
The other teams in Group A include former African champions TP Mazembe (DR Congo) and Algeria’s MC Alger.
Sudan’s Al Hilal have been drawn to face reigning champions Al Ahly at the quarter final stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The draw of Africa’s most prestigious club tournament was conducted on Thursday at the beIN studio in Doha, Qatar.
Al Hilal are the only team from the CECAFA Zone to make it to the quarter final stage after Young Africans SC from Tanzania dropped out in the group stage.
Despite the political conflict in Sudan which forced Al Hilal handled by Florent Ibenge to play outside the country, they managed to top the group.
Incase Al Hilal eliminate the 12-time champions Al Ahly, they will face the winner between Mamelodi Sundowns and Esperance Sportive de Tunis at the semi-final stage.
The other two quarter final ties will see Pyramids FC (Egypt) take on AS FAR (Morocco), while Algeria’s MC Alger of Algeria face another South African side Orlando Pirates.
Matches at the quarter-final stage will be played over two legs, with the first leg scheduled for April 1st, 2025 and the return leg on April 8th.
Quarter finals
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) vs Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia)
Al Ahly SC (Egypt) vs Al Hilal SC (Sudan)
MC Alger (Algeria) vs Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
Pyramids FC (Egypt) vs AS FAR (Morocco)
Tanzania Premier League side Young Africans SC have failed to book a place in the quarter-final stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Young Africans SC needed nothing less than victory against MC Alger in the last group match played in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, but settled for a goalless draw.
Coach Sead Ramovic’s team revived their hopes last weekend after defeating table leaders Al Hilal (Sudan) 1-0 in an away match played in Mauritania. The draw against the Algerian side meant that they finished third in the group with 8 points.
In the second Group A match played in DR Congo, bottom placed TP Mazembe shocked Al Hilal 4-0. Jean Diouf and Ibrahim Keita gave TP Mazembe a 2-0 half time lead.
After the interval Merceil Ngimbi Vumbi increased the lead, and Suleman Shaibu converted a late penalty to make it 4-0.
Al Hilal finished top with 10 points, while MC Alger came second with 9 points and TP Mazembe bottom with 5 points.
Young Africans SC have picked a 1-0 win away to Al Hilal to improve their chances of qualifying for the knock-out stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Stephane Aziz Ki netted the only goal after 7 minutes in the Group A match played on Sunday at the Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
The Tanzanian side who lost their opening Group match 2-0 to the same Sudan team last year made sure they picked the revenge as they dominated most of the match.
Although Al Hilal have already qualified for the quarter final stage with 10 points, Young Africans SC closed the gap as they moved to 7 points, one behind second placed MC Alger from Algeria.
Young Africans SC will now need to register a win in their last Group A match against MC Alger on January 18th, 2025 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Last year Tanzanian sides Young Africans SC and Simba SC reached the quarter-final stage.
Sudan Premier League reigning champions Al Hilal are the first team to book a quarter final slot in the on-going 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Coach Folrent Ibenge’s team battled to to a 1-1 draw against MC Alger in a Group A match played on Sunday at the Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Sofiane Bayazid gave the Algerian side an early 5th minute lead, but the Al Hilal fought back strongly to level matters through Jean Claued Girumugisha. The Burundian International dribbled past two defenders and unleashed a hard shot that the MC Alger goalkeeper failed to stop.
The draw saw Al Hilal kept top of the table with 10 points and qualify for the knock out stage with two more matches to spare.
“We are very happy that we managed to keep pushing despite conceding an early goal. The players have worked hard to get the draw and qualify for the next stage,” said Ibenge.
Al Hilal who are playing all their matches away from home because of the political unrest in Sudan have won three group matches and drawn once.
The Sudan side will next host Tanzania’s Young Africans SC on January 12th, 2025, before they play the last match against TP Mazembe six days later in Lubumbashi.
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