Analysis
Picture the two technical areas at Moses Mabhida on Saturday night. On one side, a Portuguese coach who has won the league and the continent with Mamelodi Sundowns, yet has never lifted a cup in South Africa. On the other, a Moroccan who won the league and two cups in his first season with Orlando Pirates, and who now carries a streak that began before he arrived. This is the MTN8 final: Cardoso, Ouaddou and a trophy that weighs far more than an eight-team cup should.
On paper it is the smallest field either club plays in this season: eight teams, four matches at most. In the gut of both men, it is nothing of the sort.
| Orlando Pirates v Mamelodi Sundowns: quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Competition | MTN8 final |
| Date | Saturday 10 October 2026 |
| Kick-off | 18:00 SAST |
| Venue | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban |
| Tickets | Sold out |
| What is at stake | Pirates chase a fifth MTN8 title in a row |
The context: two coaches, two very different trophy cabinets
Miguel Cardoso walked into Chloorkop in December 2024 as the coach who had taken Esperance of Tunisia to the CAF Champions League final, beating Sundowns home and away in the semi-finals on the way. He won the league in his first half-season. In May he did what the club had wanted for a decade: Sundowns beat AS FAR 2-1 on aggregate and became champions of Africa for the second time.
But the domestic cups have slipped through his fingers. Before this season’s MTN8 he had been through two Nedbank Cup campaigns, one Carling Knockout and one MTN8, with nothing to show for any of them. Back in August, before the semi-final second leg against Golden Arrows, he said it plainly: “I want to put cups on my CV in South Africa”. On Wednesday, at the club’s media day, he went further, as TimesLIVE reported: “For some time myself and the coaching staff have never played a [domestic] cup final. So it’s also an important moment for us.”
Abdeslam Ouaddou’s story runs the other way. Pirates announced him as Jose Riveiro’s successor in June 2025, and his first season was the kind clubs frame and hang in the boardroom: the MTN8, the Carling Knockout and the league, the club’s first league title in 14 years, which ended Sundowns’ run of eight straight championships.
Here is the twist. Three of the four MTN8 titles in Pirates’ current run, 2022, 2023 and 2024, were won before Ouaddou was appointed. The fifth would be the record, and it would be his. If you want the format and the recent winners, our guide to how the MTN8 works has them.
The key moment: a shoot-out in Atteridgeville
To understand Saturday, go back to 23 August 2025 and the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium. The MTN8 semi-final had finished 1-1 on the day and 2-2 on aggregate. Iqraam Rayners scored for Sundowns, Kamogelo Sebelebele levelled for Pirates, and it went to penalties.
Sipho Chaine saved twice, from Teboho Mokoena and from Marcelo Allende. Pirates won the shoot-out 4-1 and went on to Mbombela, where Ouaddou’s substitutes won the final: Oswin Appollis and Tshepang Moremi came off the bench, and once extra time began, Moremi scored twice and Tshegofatso Mabasa once in a 3-0 win over Stellenbosch.
Cardoso’s only previous MTN8 campaign ended that night in Atteridgeville, with Mokoena’s penalty saved. Nine months later the same Mokoena hit the stoppage-time strike in Rabat that won Sundowns the Champions League. Football rarely writes a cleaner redemption arc. Saturday asks whether he will be fit enough to finish it. There is more on the player himself on our Teboho Mokoena page.
The MTN8 final, Cardoso, Ouaddou and the injury news
Today’s team news for this MTN8 final shapes Cardoso’s and Ouaddou’s choices more than any tactics board.
Sundowns have three players in doubt, all hurt on Bafana Bafana duty: Mokoena, Bathusi Aubaas and Aubrey Modiba. Aubaas went off in the first half against Eritrea, Mokoena and Modiba missed that game, and all three sat out the friendly against Egypt. Cardoso gave no verdict at Wednesday’s media open day. The doctors had a first look on Tuesday and were due to check again on Wednesday, and he made clear he will not gamble: “we cannot risk, especially on muscle injuries like the ones Aubrey and Aubaas had.” He added that the early signs were good and that Mokoena was progressing, but “Those will be last minute decisions”. IOL reported that the trio trained with the squad on Wednesday morning. Sundowns have not ruled anyone out.
There is a precedent worth remembering. Modiba missed the second leg of the Champions League final through injury, Divine Lunga started at left-back, and Sundowns still won the trophy. Losing Mokoena is a different problem. He is the man who sets their tempo, and two of his biggest knockout nights in the past 14 months were a saved penalty against Pirates and the goal that won Africa.
Pirates have their own list, and Ouaddou is guarding it closely. Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa, out since early August, were back in full training by late September. By Monday the rest of the injured group were back on the field too: “It’s very good news for us to see them on the field and to train with us,” Ouaddou said at Rand Stadium. The Diamond Fields Advertiser lists six players back in training: Makgopa, Mbatha, Mohau Nkota, Makhehleni Makhaula, Kabelo Dlamini and Andre de Jong. Sihle Nduli trained with the squad that day but, his coach said, still needs a couple of weeks with the medical staff. Asked who would be ready for Saturday, Ouaddou would only say: “Look, what I can tell you is that they are in good shape, they are coming back”. Then the door closed: “For now, I cannot tell you more about these players.”
The calendar was the other question. Pirates’ Bafana group only landed back from Egypt on Tuesday morning. Ouaddou shrugged it off, telling journalists, as Kick Off reported, that those players have been with the club long enough to know his game model. “Most important are the principles, the principles in the game. So I’m not really worried about that.”
The numbers that matter more than form
Sundowns beat Pirates 2-1 in the league in February. In knockout football the story flips. Take four knockout meetings since 2022:
| Year | Competition | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | MTN8 semi-final | Pirates won the second leg 3-0 against the holders |
| 2023 | MTN8 final | 0-0 after extra time, Pirates won on penalties |
| 2024 | Nedbank Cup final | Pirates 2-1, with a stoppage-time winner |
| 2025 | MTN8 semi-final | 2-2 on aggregate, Pirates won 4-1 on penalties |
Pirates went through every time, and three of those four were settled by one goal or by penalties. These games are close, and they go to the side that keeps its nerve late. That favours the coach with the deeper, fitter bench on the night, which is exactly why the injury lists matter so much.
The historical meaning: a streak and a drought
Pirates have already made history in this competition. By the club’s own account, the September 2025 win over Stellenbosch made Pirates the first South African side to lift one domestic cup in four straight seasons. A fifth would push that record further, and for Ouaddou it would turn an inherited streak into his own. Our Orlando Pirates page has the wider story of the club behind it.
For Sundowns the hole is just as real. Their last MTN8 title came in 2021. Their last domestic cup of any kind was the 2021/22 Nedbank Cup, won against Marumo Gallants in May 2022. A club with this much silverware has gone four years without a domestic knockout trophy, and its coach knows it. Cardoso made the point himself on Wednesday, in remarks reported by TimesLIVE: “It will be a high-level match at the same level as a Champions League match, absolutely, because Orlando Pirates are also a high-level team full of quality players.”
That is not a coach treating the MTN8 as a warm-up. Our Mamelodi Sundowns page tells the bigger story of a club that is not used to waiting.
What happens next
The decisions on Mokoena, Aubaas and Modiba will come late, Cardoso says. Pirates have not confirmed who is back. When Fluit’s Five looked at this final on Wednesday, the injury picture was still murky, and that edition also flagged Mbatha’s push for a place. A day on, it is clearer, but not settled.
Kick-off is 18:00 SAST on Saturday 10 October at a sold-out Moses Mabhida. If Pirates win, Ouaddou owns the record. If Sundowns win, Cardoso finally puts a South African cup on his CV, against the side that took the league off him. ScoreLine will have the match report on Saturday night.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 MTN8 final?
Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns kick off at 18:00 SAST on Saturday 10 October 2026. The venue is Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, and every ticket has been sold.
Will Teboho Mokoena play in the MTN8 final?
Mokoena is in doubt after an injury on Bafana Bafana duty. Miguel Cardoso said on Wednesday that the decisions on Mokoena, Aubrey Modiba and Bathusi Aubaas will be made at the last minute. He said Mokoena was progressing, and Sundowns have not ruled him out.
Has Miguel Cardoso won a domestic cup with Sundowns?
Not yet. Cardoso has won the league, the CAF Champions League and, on 19 September 2026, FIFA’s African-Asian-Pacific Cup with Sundowns, but no South African cup. His only previous MTN8 ended in a semi-final penalty shoot-out defeat to Pirates in August 2025. He has said he wants South African cups on his CV.
How many MTN8 titles in a row have Orlando Pirates won?
Pirates have won the MTN8 four years in a row, from 2022 to 2025. A win on Saturday would make it five. Ouaddou was the coach for the 2025 title; the first three came before he was appointed in June 2025.
Who are Orlando Pirates’ injury doubts for the MTN8 final?
Abdeslam Ouaddou has not said who will be available. Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa returned to full training in late September, and by Monday 5 October the rest of the injured group, including Mohau Nkota and Andre de Jong, were training with the squad. Sihle Nduli also trained but still needs a couple of weeks, Ouaddou said.