CAFCL: Al Hilal coach Reghecampf: ‘All teams stand a chance’

Al Hilal Omdurman coach Laurentiu Reghecampf has acknowledged that the 2025-2026 CAF Champions League (CAFCL) Group C remains delicately balanced going into Saturday’s two decisive matches in Rwanda and South Africa.

The Sudanese giants host FC Saint-Éloi Lupopo at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali while second-placed MC Alger are in Pretoria for a showdown with the 2024-2025 Champions League finalists, Mamelodi Sundowns, at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

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Ahead of the meeting with the Democratic Republic of the Congo opponents, Reghecampf told his club’s media that he was under no illusion that the group has any quarterfinal favourite at this stage.

“I think it is not only important for me, but for all the Al Hilal family. It is exactly what I said before the start of the group-stage games, that all the teams would have a chance to qualify, and the last game would be very important for all of us… All the four teams have a chance to qualify,” the Romanian explained.

“Anything can happen. That is why we need to take the game seriously. We need to play our game. We need to do everything to qualify for the next stage.”

What Al Hilal must learn from MC Alger’s game

Reghecampf has since challenged his charges to deliver a better performance and bounce back from the away 2-1 loss to MC Alger in Algeria the previous week.

“The atmosphere in the team is very good. The players know what we did wrongly in the last game. There were many things that I don’t want to speak about. The challenge is the same that we had in the first game,” he said.

“When we drew against Lupopo away, I told everyone that it will not be easy to win against them in their stadium, and it was like that: MC Alger lost 1-0 and Sundowns drew 1-1 like us. It [Lupopo] is a good team. We have to respect them. We have our target. It didn’t change from the first game. We need to qualify for the next stage.”

What Al Hilal and Lupopo must do in tight Group C

Al Hilal lead the table with eight points from five games, one point ahead of MC Alger. Sundowns sit third on six points, one ahead of Lupopo. This means that only three points separate the leaders from the basement side.

The Sudanese giants can proceed to the next stage with a draw to take their tally to nine points, a threshold Lupopo cannot reach with such a result; hence, they must win Saturday’s game and pray for a draw between Sundowns and MC Alger.

Victory for Al Hilal will automatically eliminate Lupopo from the race, leaving Miguel Cardoso and Rulani Mokwena’s teams to fight for the second slot.