Sundowns Book Second Straight Final Date After Win Over Esperance

Leon fires Sundowns into Champions League final as Cardoso chases redemption

Miguel Cardoso’s Mamelodi Sundowns advanced to their fourth CAF Champions League final after Brayan Leon netted the rebound from his saved penalty. Sundowns host Royal Armed Forces on May 15, with the winner guaranteed a 2029 Club World Cup place.

The Champions League winner secures an automatic spot at the next Club World Cup in 2029...

Colombian striker Brayan Leon had his penalty saved but reacted quickest to bury the rebound on Saturday, sending Mamelodi Sundowns into the African Champions League final at the expense of Tunisia’s Esperance.

Leon’s 35th-minute spot kick was denied by visiting keeper Bechir Ben Said, but he pounced on the loose ball to secure a 1-0 victory for Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld.

Leon, who also netted the only goal in last Sunday’s first leg in Tunis, ensured a 2-0 aggregate win. The result sends Sundowns into the final for the second season running.

Sundowns are into the Champions League final for the fourth time and will now be chasing a second star for their badge.

They were beaten by Al Ahly in the 2001 final before memorably overcoming Zamalek to lift the trophy in 2016.

Coach Miguel Cardoso will still be reflecting on how they fell to Pyramids in last year’s two-legged final. They get another shot at redemption in the 2025/26 campaign, and he knows anything short of the trophy won’t be seen as good enough.

Sundowns won the penalty from a throw-in back to Ben Said. The keeper was caught dallying as he looked to clear, with Leon charging him down and getting a toe to the ball before Ben Said caught him with his attempted clearance. VAR upheld the decision, although replays may have missed the ball also striking Leon’s arm - after contact from the keeper had already been made.

Leon now has 10 goals in 11 starts, and 19 appearances overall - an excellent return for The Brazilians.

He is now the joint second-highest scorer in this season’s Champions League, trailing only Al Ahly’s Trezeguet.

The job is done. The mission continues. The final awaits. A dominant performance by Bafana Ba Style has booked them a place in the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL final. 🔥👆

Mamelodi Sundowns (35’ León) 1️⃣ (2)➖(0) 0️⃣ ES Tunis #Sundowns #AreyengMasandawana pic.twitter.com/e0h7rWGMtd

— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) April 18, 2026

Sundowns tested Ben Said throughout and forced several strong saves, while Esperance’s best chance to level came just before the break when French striker Florin Danho saw his effort clip a defender and cannon off the Sundowns crossbar.

Overall, the hosts registered five shots on target to Esperance’s two, and Sundowns controlled play with 58% possession.

Miguel Cardoso is guiding Sundowns to his third straight Champions League final - his second with the Pretoria club - after finishing runner-up with Esperance against Al Ahly in 2024.

The Portuguese coach is the first to take Sundowns to multiple Champions League finals, and he remains unbeaten in six meetings between these two clubs while in charge.

As Esperance boss, he beat Sundowns home and away in the 2024 semi-final. Last season he led Sundowns to a 1-0 home win and a 0-0 draw away to the Tunisians in the quarter-finals. All five of Cardoso’s wins in this fixture have come by 1-0 scorelines.

Who do Sundowns meet next?

Sundowns will face Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces, also known as AS FAR, in the two-legged final. The first leg is in Pretoria on May 15, with the return in Rabat seven days later. 9e01

They will face either Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces or Renaissance Berkane, with the two sides meeting later on Saturday. The military club takes a 2-0 advantage into the second leg from last weekend’s first meeting in Rabat.

Royal Armed Forces made the quarter-finals last season before being knocked out by Pyramids, who then went on to beat Sundowns in the final. The Moroccan side lifted the old-style African Champions Cup in 1985.

Renaissance Berkane are in their debut Champions League campaign this season, though they’ve already claimed three African Confederation Cup titles.

The Champions League winner secures an automatic spot at the next Club World Cup in 2029. Four African clubs will feature at the tournament, although the host nation is yet to be confirmed.

Those four places from the continent go to the winners of each Champions League from 2025 to 2028. That means Pyramids are already qualified, and the next three champions will join them at the event, which offers significant prize money for participants.

If a club wins more than one of those four editions, the extra slot goes to the club or clubs with the best overall record across the four-year cycle. That’s how Sundowns and Esperance earned their places at last year’s Club World Cup in the United States.