{"id":11935,"date":"2025-06-26T16:35:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=11935"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:25:09","slug":"miguel-cardoso-proud-of-sundowns-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/miguel-cardoso-proud-of-sundowns-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Miguel Cardoso: Proud of Sundowns\u2019 Effort Despite Club World Cup Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso believes his team can return home with pride after concluding their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States. Despite bowing out at the group stage, the Brazilians secured four points from three matches, showcasing their quality on the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pretoria-based outfit held Brazilian giants Fluminense to a goalless draw in their final Group F fixture in Miami, following a dramatic 4-3 defeat to Borussia Dortmund and a 1-0 victory over Ulsan HD from South Korea. Although they finished third and failed to progress, Cardoso insists the club exits the tournament with more than just statistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-miguel-cardoso-we-showed-we-belong\"><strong>Miguel Cardoso<\/strong>: <strong>\u201cWe Showed We Belong\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cSome clubs left this tournament empty-handed,\u201d said Cardoso. \u201cBut we walk away with four points, only one defeat, and a draw where we had the best chances. That\u2019s a big statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The coach encouraged sceptics to study their opponents \u2013 Fluminense, Dortmund and Ulsan \u2013 in order to fully appreciate the scale of Sundowns\u2019 performances against some of world football\u2019s elite. \u201cThese were top-tier teams, and we held our own,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-315827359\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-global-recognition-earned\"><strong>Global Recognition Earned<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Miguel Cardoso was adamant that Sundowns\u2019 campaign has elevated the club\u2019s stature internationally. \u201cWe didn\u2019t advance, but we earned respect. We\u2019ve put our players and our club on the map,\u201d he explained. \u201cPeople might find our name unusual, but they\u2019ll remember the football we played \u2013 the emotion, the courage, the ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Sundowns mentor acknowledged that the squad had clear ambitions of qualifying from the group but stressed that their pride was intact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe gave people exciting football. Although we might not be celebrating qualification, we&#8217;re celebrating growth. We leave stronger than we arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-context-of-a-tough-season\"><strong>Context of a Tough Season<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Brazilians entered the tournament off the back of a tough CAF Champions League campaign, where they were narrowly defeated in the final by Egyptian club Pyramids FC. Still, their spot in this revamped global competition was secured thanks to a stellar four-year run in continental football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIn the eight months I\u2019ve been with Sundowns, it\u2019s been extraordinary,\u201d said Cardoso. \u201cWe retained our domestic title \u2013 our eighth in a row \u2013 and reached our first Champions League final since 2016. That\u2019s no small feat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1045801208\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pushing-boundaries-and-breaking-records\"><strong>Pushing Boundaries and Breaking Records<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Miguel Cardoso expressed immense pride in how far the team has come, especially in a tournament packed with international heavyweights. \u201cThese global events are unpredictable \u2013 you can play well and still go home with nothing,\u201d he reflected. \u201cBut we didn\u2019t leave empty-handed. We leave with experience, with recognition, and most importantly, with dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sundowns&#8217; campaign may have ended earlier than hoped, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesouthafrican.com\/sport\/soccer\/mamelodi-sundowns-coach-miguel-cardoso-proud-despite-club-world-cup-exit-job-done\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">their performances <\/a>were anything but disappointing. Cardoso remains convinced that this journey has laid the foundation for even greater success in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-heads-held-high-eyes-on-the-future\"><strong>Heads Held High, Eyes on the Future<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur goal was to go further, of course,\u201d he concluded. \u201cBut if you ask whether we\u2019ll sleep peacefully tonight? Absolutely. We did our job and showed the world what Mamelodi Sundowns are all about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the journey ends in the United States, the impact of Sundowns\u2019 presence on the world stage will undoubtedly ripple far beyond the pitch \u2013 a moment of pride not just for the club, but for football in our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/mamelodi-sundowns-to-cash-in-millions\/\">Mamelodi Sundowns to Cash in R228 Million from FIFA Club World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso believes his team can return home with pride after concluding their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States. Despite bowing out at the group stage, the Brazilians secured four points from three matches, showcasing their quality on the global stage. The Pretoria-based outfit held Brazilian giants Fluminense to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":11938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso believes his team can return home with pride after concluding their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the United States....","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[2944,368,360,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-11935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-fifa-club-world-cup","10":"tag-international-football","11":"tag-mamelodi-sundowns","12":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11939,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11935\/revisions\/11939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}