CAF Champions League: Sundowns will fight for top spot— Al Hilal coach Reghecampf

Al Hilal Omdurman coach Laurentiu Reghecampf says he expects Mamelodi Sundowns to come with guns blazing in Rwanda on Friday, eyeing first place in Group C of the CAF Champions League.

The Romanian spoke about the top-of-the table contest, scheduled to be played at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, during a post-match press conference on Thursday. The match will kick off at 9pm Central African Time.

The rematch comes barely a week after Al Hilal forced Sundowns to a two-all draw at home in Pretoria, South Africa. The result left both sides at par on five points apiece from three outings.

With three more matches to go in the group, that also comprises Saint-Éloi Lupopo FC and MC Alger, Reghecampf suggested that the real battle is now on between his Sudanese team and the Betway Premiership record holders.

“I don’t like to speak too much. I like to see my team on the pitch doing well. We have in the past three games, we won once and drawn two times. It is nothing special. It is our way to work and our way to play. I am confident we have a very good squad and very good players. I don’t make plans. I just try to take it game-by-game. I try to encourage my players to play football, and at the same time, have positive results,” the coach explained.

“The game for tomorrow, I think will be open. Both teams need to win points. That is why all of you will have a nice game. The most important thing, if you see the group, are the points. When we played against Sundowns, we were the first two teams in the group.”

Reghecampf added: “Now I say the same thing—all the other teams are making a lot of comments. They are saying a lot of things in the media, but at the moment, Sundowns will fight with Al Hilal for the first position. This is the reality. We have to be realistic and speak about reality. If you start to make comments about the next game, and say we will win, and that this team will lose, this is not football. Football is open for everything. This is why we people love football.”

حديث ريجيكامب خلال المؤتمر الصحفي 🗣#The_most_decorated_club_in_Sudan#النادي_الأكثر_تتويجاً_بالبطولات_في_السودان pic.twitter.com/quTNLLLSNw

— نادي الهلال للتربية – Alhilal S.C (@alhilalsc1930) January 29, 2026

How Al Hilal and Sundowns stand in Group C

The Sudanese giants are level on five points with their South African counterparts at the summit. Only a point separates the joint leaders from third-placed Saint-Éloi Lupopo FC, who edged MC Alger 1-0 in Kinshasa on Sunday. Rulani Mokwena’s side anchor the four-member log table with one point from three games.

The Algerians can no longer afford any draw let alone loss as they host the Congolese opponents in the reverse fixture on Friday. Each team in the pool has three games to go with a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League at stake. Sundowns reached the final last year when they lost to Pyramids FC of Egypt.