Cardoso rallies Sundowns fighting spirit ahead of second leg CAF clash against Wiliete

The defending African champions played to a goalless draw in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second preliminary round tie in Angola last week and will be targeting progression to the group stage of the tournament for the ninth consecutive season.

Masandawana head into the clash on the back of their African Asian Pacific Cup and MTN8 title victories and are expected to dominate their Angolan opposition in the return leg at home.

"We got knocked out in the past by Petro de Luanda [2022 quarter finals], this team is first in Angola, only conceded one goal," said Cardoso at the press conference ahead of the match.

"I said the draw was not kind, but Sundowns will state their level, we got a result that will put us in control to finish it.

"Will it be easy? Nothing is easy in the Champions League, it will be a misjudgement to say it's easy, we need to fight for this - find the best ones to start and figure out who is the best to finish [the match]."

Meanwhile, Wiliete SC will be trying to progress to the group phase of the tournament for the first time in their club's history, having been knocked out by Tanzanian giants Simba in last season's first preliminary round.

The Angolan sides coach Beto Bianchi was spotted leading their training session ahead of Friday's fixture after being reportedly hospitalised following an alleged incident with a member of the Sundowns technical team.