There is a particular kind of Amakhosi nervousness that only arrives on a Friday afternoon. The jersey comes out of the cupboard, the WhatsApp group goes quiet, and every supporter does the same sum in their head. One goal down. Ninety minutes. Home crowd. Everything to play for. The Chiefs-Red Arrows return leg at Moses Mabhida Stadium is that sum made real, and for once there is no next week to hide behind: lose this tie and the African season is over before October is.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Match | Kaizer Chiefs v Red Arrows (Zambia) |
| Competition | CAF Confederation Cup, second preliminary round, second leg |
| Date | Friday 23 October 2026 |
| Kick-off | 18:00 SAST (Kaizer Chiefs) |
| Venue | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban |
| First leg | Red Arrows 1-0 Kaizer Chiefs, Ndola, 17 October |
| At stake | A place in the group stage |
| Tickets | From R80 (Computicket, Shoprite, Checkers) |
| TV | Not confirmed in any official source we read |
The Chiefs-Red Arrows return leg: what Amakhosi need
Start with the arithmetic, because Chiefs themselves have spelled it out. The club’s own match notice says Fernando Da Cruz’s side must win by at least two goals in Durban to reach the group stage, or take the tie to penalties by winning 1-0. Those are the only two routes the club lists.
CAF lists this as the last hurdle before the group stage: 32 clubs in the second preliminary round, return legs across 23 to 25 October, 16 survivors. Chiefs had a bye through the first round, so Ndola was their first game of this campaign. Friday decides whether it is also their last. New to two-legged CAF ties? Our explainer on how the CAF Champions League preliminary rounds work walks through the format; for this tie, the club’s sums are the ones that matter.
The date, venue and time come from Chiefs: the club has published Friday 23 October, Moses Mabhida Stadium and an 18:00 kick-off twice, on 16 and 19 October. CAF had not published a time when we checked on Thursday morning.
How Chiefs got here: one corner in Ndola
The first leg was decided by a moment Chiefs will have replayed all week. At the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, with roughly a quarter of an hour left, Alassane Diarra was left free to head in a corner, and Red Arrows had their 1-0. Our report from Ndola has the full story of the afternoon.
That defeat did not arrive out of nowhere. It stretched the run to four games without a win in all competitions, after three straight Premiership draws, the last of them against Stellenbosch at FNB Stadium. Chiefs are still unbeaten in the league, and that is exactly the frustration. Our numbers piece on why the draws were already costing Chiefs made the case before Ndola; Ndola sharpened it.
Da Cruz knows how the stands feel. “I know that they [Chiefs fans] are not happy because in the PSL we don’t lose, but we don’t win as well,” he said after the first leg, as reported by TimesLIVE.
He was honest about Zambia, too. “We played the first half with no aggression; we also struggled in duels, but it was better in the second half,” the coach said. He did not like the pitch either, though he insisted his players must adapt to any conditions.
And the pressure? Da Cruz waved it away as part of the job. “We are under pressure every day, and we put pressure on ourselves every day, so it’s not a problem,” he told TimesLIVE.
Team news: what the club and Da Cruz have said
Here we stick to the record, because injuries are where rumours breed fastest.
Before the first leg, the club’s medical update listed four absentees. Captain Brandon Petersen was returning to individual training after a knee injury, Lebohang Maboe was nursing an ankle injury, and Langelihle Phili and Siphesihle Ndlovu remained long-term absentees. Da Cruz said in the days before Ndola that the injured players would not be back for that game and that it would “take a bit of time”.
After the defeat he promised more detail. “As for the injured players, we will make a medical statement when we come back to Johannesburg,” he said, as quoted by FARPost. We had not found that statement on the club’s website or in any report by Thursday morning, so we will not guess at who is fit.
One more note from Ndola: defender Thabiso Monyane went off injured after about half an hour. The club has said nothing since about his fitness for Friday.
The club had not named a squad for the return leg when we checked. Renaldo Leaner kept goal in Zambia, and he has been the loudest voice this week. Speaking to the club’s website, he laid out the plan plainly: “It’s obvious, but our first task is to get one goal and then go for another one,” he said, adding that the side must also focus on keeping a clean sheet. He said the players had studied where it went wrong in Ndola and where Red Arrows can be hurt, “so we believe we can succeed on Friday.”
What has to change: chances
What worries Da Cruz most is not the score. It is the chances. By his own admission Chiefs created little in Ndola. “We need to change something to create more chances,” he told reporters, according to both FARPost and The Citizen.
That is Friday’s tactical puzzle: chase two goals without leaving the door open. Leaner’s order of operations, one goal, then another, nothing conceded, is the right instinct. A team that needs two goals can still afford to wait for the first.
Red Arrows: Mbewe’s side smell history
Do not mistake Red Arrows for tourists. Chisi Mbewe’s team won Zambia’s 2026 cup, beating Power Dynamos 2-0 in the final, and then brushed aside FC Rouge of Madagascar 4-0 on aggregate in the first round, winning 2-0 in Ndola and 2-0 in Port Louis, where Ackim Mumba scored twice. Chiefs’ own preview noted this is Arrows’ fourth Confederation Cup campaign and that they have never reached the group stage. One more good night and they would.
Mbewe left Ndola believing his side should have won by more. “Our target was to score three goals in this game and you could see by the chances we created,” he told Red Arrows media after the match.
His message for Durban is about shape and nerve. “We need to be solid, remain compact and ensure that we do not give Kaizer Chiefs the space to dictate play,” he said. He also warned his players about the trip itself: “We need very strong mental strength when we travel to South Africa, we don’t need to be complacent.”
That is a coach who expects to defend. If Arrows sit deep, Chiefs will need width and a set piece of their own. Ndola showed what one corner can do.
History says this will not be easy
Chiefs’ record against Zambian opposition in Africa is a cautionary tale. The club counts six meetings: two wins, one draw and three defeats. Last season’s Confederation Cup ended in the group stage with 11 points, Chiefs going out on goal difference, according to the club. That is how thin the margins are at this level.
Da Cruz has been here before as a coach, if not with Chiefs. His only previous Confederation Cup campaign took AS FAR of Morocco to the quarter-finals in 2022/23, where they went out to the eventual winners, USM Alger. He knows a two-legged tie can turn on one half.
Why Friday matters beyond Friday
This is about more than one cup. Reach the group stage and Chiefs buy months of African football, and their coach some breathing room. Go out in October, at home, to a side chasing its first group stage, and every critic gets a fresh reason to say crisis. Of the big three, Pirates take a lead into their return leg and Sundowns are level; only Chiefs are behind, as The Final Whistle laid out on Monday.
So the club has turned to the crowd. “We must come together to ensure victory and advance to the group stages,” Da Cruz said in Chiefs’ match notice, which asks supporters to wear gold and black. Standard tickets are R80 from Computicket, Shoprite and Checkers, with suites available through the stadium. “We need them at home to be behind us because we know that our team is able to win this game,” the coach had said after the first leg.
Durban has heard that call before. On Friday it gets the chance to answer it.
Frequently asked questions
What time is Kaizer Chiefs v Red Arrows on Friday?
Kick-off is at 18:00 SAST on Friday 23 October 2026 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Kaizer Chiefs published the date, venue and time on their official website on 16 and 19 October. CAF had not published a kick-off time when we checked on Thursday morning.
What do Kaizer Chiefs need to qualify against Red Arrows?
Chiefs lost the first leg 1-0, so they must win the return leg. The club says it needs to win by at least two goals to reach the group stage, or win 1-0 and then win a penalty shoot-out.
What was the first-leg score between Red Arrows and Kaizer Chiefs?
Red Arrows won 1-0 at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, on Saturday 17 October 2026. Alassane Diarra scored the only goal with a header from a corner in the second half.
How much are tickets for Chiefs v Red Arrows at Moses Mabhida?
Standard tickets cost R80 and are sold through Computicket and at Shoprite and Checkers stores, according to the club. Suite packages cost R1,699 and R2,899 per person, booked through the stadium’s hospitality office.
Who is injured for Kaizer Chiefs before the Red Arrows return leg?
The most recent club medical update we found, from before the first leg, listed Brandon Petersen (knee, back in individual training), Lebohang Maboe (ankle), and Langelihle Phili and Siphesihle Ndlovu (long-term absentees). Fernando Da Cruz promised a new medical statement after the return from Zambia, which we had not seen by Thursday morning, and the squad for Friday had not been named.