Five in a row or a first domestic cup for Cardoso: one night in Durban decides

Somewhere in Soweto on Saturday afternoon, a Pirates fan will check their phone for the fifth time to make sure the ticket is downloaded and not a screenshot. Somewhere in Mamelodi, a Sundowns supporter will be doing the same, with a different knot in the stomach. The Sundowns v Pirates MTN8 final is the first trophy of the season, it is sold out, and it carries two stories at once: a dynasty trying to go where no South African club has been, and a giant trying to remember what a home cup feels like.

Pirates have won this competition four years running. Sundowns have not lifted it since 2021. One of those runs ends on Saturday night.

Why the Sundowns v Pirates MTN8 final matters

Start with Pirates, because the record is theirs to lose. The Buccaneers are going for a fifth successive MTN8 title, and the club says last year’s win already made it the first team in South African football to take the same domestic cup four seasons in a row. This is their fifth straight final, a record on its own, and victory would lift them to 15 MTN8 titles, level with Kaizer Chiefs at the top of the all-time list. The format, the prize money and the full roll of honour sit in ScoreLine Explains on the MTN8.

Now Sundowns. Champions of Africa in May, winners of FIFA’s African-Asian-Pacific Cup at Loftus Versfeld last month, and yet without a domestic cup since the 2022 Nedbank Cup. Four years is a strange gap for a club with a trophy room this full, and Saturday is Miguel Cardoso’s first domestic cup final as their coach.

Then there is the league. Pirates took the title off Sundowns last season, ending a run of eight straight championships, as part of a treble in Abdeslam Ouaddou’s first year in charge. By the Pirates’ own count, this is the fourth time in five seasons the two have met in this competition.

How they got to Durban

Pirates’ route was close to the perfect two-legged semi-final. Deon Hotto’s drive late in the first half won the first leg 1-0 against Sekhukhune United at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, and goals from Thapelo Mokobodi, Ghampani Lungu and Kamogelo Sebelebele finished the job 3-0 at Orlando Stadium. Four for, none against.

Sundowns took the scenic route. Golden Arrows beat them 1-0 in Tshwane, so the Brazilians went to King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi needing goals. Cassius Mailula, Marcelo Allende and Antonio van Wyk delivered a 3-2 win, 3-3 on aggregate, and away goals did the rest. A team that wobbled, then found a way. Remember that if they fall behind on Saturday.

Sundowns team news: three late calls

Sundowns’ Bafana Bafana casualties are the biggest unknown of the weekend. Teboho Mokoena, Aubrey Modiba and Bathusi Aubaas, all hurt on international duty, are in doubt, and the club has said nothing beyond that. At Wednesday’s media day at Chloorkop, Cardoso explained that the calls would wait until the last possible moment and that he would not take chances with muscle injuries, while adding that the early signs from their recovery were good. We carried his words in this morning’s Beyond the Score.

Sunday World reported that Mokoena trained in trainers rather than boots on Wednesday morning and stayed out of the drills that needed him to strike a ball. Read into that what you like: the club has not ruled him out. There is more on what he means to this side on our Teboho Mokoena page.

If Modiba misses out, Business Day expects Fawaaz Basadien to start at left-back, straight up against Tshepang Moremi, who likes to swap wings with Oswin Appollis.

There was brighter news too. Monnapule Saleng, yet to play this season, was back working with the group on Wednesday, and Sunday World also saw Keanu Cupido in full training. Saleng against his former club would be quite a subplot, but nobody at Sundowns has said he will be involved.

Pirates team news: bodies back, places up for grabs

The Pirates list is shorter but not empty. The club’s medical update during the international break had Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa back in full-team training, Mohau Nkota and Andre de Jong in field-based rehabilitation, and Sihle Nduli about two weeks away from rejoining the squad. By Monday the injured group was training with everyone else, though Ouaddou would not commit to who will be ready.

The bigger disruption was the calendar. Twelve Pirates players were away on international duty during the build-up, seven of them with Bafana, so Ouaddou prepared for much of the fortnight without a big part of his first team.

Mbatha is the interesting case. Fit again after a knee injury and back in his home city (he is from KwaMashu, the Sowetan notes), he is no longer a certain starter after Mokobodi and Mthetheleli Mthiyane ran the midfield well without him. He is not buying the favourites tag either. “There’s no luck in winning finals,” he told EWN.

What the coaches said this week

Ouaddou spoke at Rand Stadium on Monday and refused to lean on the streak. “It’s a different game, different era. You have to prepare for it with a lot of ambition and seriousness,” he said. Four straight titles might help mentally, he accepted, but fighting spirit would count as much as any plan: “Winning a cup final requires more than tactics.” He also wants his side out of the blocks quickly, as TimesLIVE reported: “I always say the first 15 minutes of the game are important.”

Cardoso has already put this final on a par with Champions League football, as we reported in Beyond the Score, and he has one more wish that has nothing to do with his own players. “I hope the referee is actually the best team on the pitch, that is my clear wish,” he said on Wednesday, before expressing the hope that both sets of players show the country how two rivals should conduct themselves on a big night.

Where this final could be won

Three places stand out.

The middle. Business Day picks Mokoena against Mbatha as one of the duels to watch, and both carry a fitness question. Without Mokoena, Sundowns lose the player who sets their tempo. Without Mbatha, Pirates still have Mokobodi, who scored in the semi-final second leg and set up both goals in their last league win before the break.

The Sundowns left flank. Moremi and Appollis against whoever wears Modiba’s shirt. If Pirates get joy there early, Ouaddou gets the fast start he wants.

The penalty spot. In the 2023 final, at this same stadium, Sipho Chaine saved three Sundowns penalties, one of them from Mokoena. In the 2025 semi-final in Atteridgeville, he saved from Mokoena again, and from Allende. Chaine started both legs of this year’s semi-final. If Saturday is level after 120 minutes, Sundowns’ takers will walk towards a goalkeeper who has had the better of them twice.

Our view: if Mokoena plays, this is close to a coin toss between two very good sides. If he does not, Pirates’ settled midfield and their nerve in shoot-outs tilt it their way.

Form going in

Pirates went into the international break on five straight league wins, a point behind leaders Sundowns, according to the club’s own match report. Sundowns’ most recent silverware came from a 2-1 win over Al Ahli Saudi at Loftus in the African-Asian-Pacific Cup, with Nuno Santos scoring twice. Tashreeq Matthews, fresh from his Bafana debut against Egypt on Sunday, put it simply to the Sowetan: “whoever is going to take their chances is going to win”.

For the bigger picture of both clubs, see our pages on Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.

What comes after Saturday

There is no time to dwell. Sundowns face Richards Bay on Tuesday, also in Durban, and a CAF Champions League qualifier the following weekend, a schedule Cardoso says shapes how much risk he takes with anyone not fully fit.

But that is next week. On Saturday it is 90 minutes, perhaps 120, perhaps penalties, and a trophy that either completes a record or ends a drought.

Frequently asked questions

What time does the Sundowns v Pirates MTN8 final start?

The date is Saturday 10 October 2026 and the kick-off time is 18:00 SAST, at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Fans with tickets can get in from 14:00, and the PSL has declared the match a sell-out.

What channel is the MTN8 final on?

The final is live on SuperSport PSL (channel 202), and Orlando Pirates say SABC 1 will also broadcast it. With every ticket gone, television is the only option for fans without one.

Is Teboho Mokoena playing in the MTN8 final?

Mokoena is in doubt. He, Bathusi Aubaas and Aubrey Modiba were all injured on Bafana Bafana duty, and Miguel Cardoso told reporters at Chloorkop that all three calls will go down to the wire. Sundowns have not ruled any of them out.

Can Orlando Pirates win a fifth MTN8 in a row?

Yes, that is what is at stake. Pirates won the MTN8 every year from 2022 to 2025, and victory in Durban would make it five straight and 15 titles in all, level with Kaizer Chiefs’ record.

When did Mamelodi Sundowns last win the MTN8?

Sundowns last won the MTN8 in 2021. The 2022 Nedbank Cup is the most recent domestic knockout trophy they have won, and Saturday is Miguel Cardoso’s first domestic cup final as their coach.