Vital away goal was always on the cards, says Sundowns coach Cardoso

Timeslive · May 25, 2026 · 474 words · By Reuters Agency

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/2026-05-25-vital-away-goal-was-always-o…

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Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

9 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 7

verified Verified By Reference 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info

“Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso said he was always convinced his side would get the vital away goal that proved decisive in Sunday’s 2025-26 Caf Champions League final.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Wikipedia confirms the existence of the 2025-26 CAF Champions League final and Mamelodi Sundowns as a club, but there is no independent evidence provided in the search results to corroborate the specific quote or statement made by Miguel Cardoso.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 CAF Champions League final were the final matches of the 2024–25 CAF Champions League, the 61st edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_CAF_Champions_League_fina…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 CAF Champions League final was the two-legged final of the 2025–26 CAF Champions League, the 62nd edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of Africa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_CAF_Champions_League_fina…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as the Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria, Gauteng that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamelodi_Sundowns_F.C.

info

“A rasping effort from midfielder Teboho Mokoena flew into the net on the stroke of half-time to equalise the score after hosts AS FAR had taken the lead and levelled the tie on aggregate.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Wikipedia confirms Teboho Mokoena plays for Mamelodi Sundowns, but no independent news sources or match reports in the evidence confirm he scored an equalizing goal in the 2025-26 final.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Teboho Patrick Mokoena (born 10 July 1974 in Thokoza, Gauteng) is a South African association football player. He last played as a midfielder for Mpumalanga Black Aces F.C.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teboho_Mokoena_(soccer,_born_1…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Teboho Mokoena (born 24 January 1997) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Premiership side Mamelodi Sundowns and the South Africa national team.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teboho_Mokoena_(soccer,_born_1…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“Sundowns took a slender 1-0 lead into the second leg”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result ('Sundowns Take Narrow 1-0 Lead Into CAF Champions League Final...') explicitly confirms Mamelodi Sundowns secured a 1-0 victory over AS FAR in the first leg of the 2025/26 final. However, this is a single source and not corroborated by a second independent news organization.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 CAF Champions League (officially the 2016 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 52nd edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_CAF_Champions_League

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 CAF Champions League final was the final of the 2016 CAF Champions League, the 52nd edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CA…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_CAF_Champions_League_fina…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 CAF Champions League, officially the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship purposes, was the 62nd season of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confeder…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_CAF_Champions_League

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“went behind in the 40th minute after giving away a penalty, which Mohamed Hrimat converted”

SINGLE SOURCE

Wikipedia confirms Mohamed Rabie Hrimat is a player and captain for AS FAR, but there is no independent evidence confirming he scored a penalty in the 40th minute of the second leg.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Royal Armed Forces Sports Association (French: Association des Sports des Forces Armées Royales AS FAR; Arabic: نادي الجيش الملكي), abbreviated as AS FAR (Arabic: نادي الجيش الملكي, romanized: Nād…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS_FAR

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mohamed Boulacsoute (Arabic: محمد بولكسوت; born 23 September 1998) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a right-back or winger for Botola club Raja CA and the Morocco national team. He b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Boulacsoute

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mohamed Rabie Hrimat (Arabic: محمد ربيع حريمات; born 7 August 1994) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as an Defensive midfielder for AS FAR, which he captains, and the Morocco national t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Rabie_Hrimat

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

“the away goals rule still applied in African club competition”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While the away goals rule is defined in Wikipedia and the tournament exists, there is no specific evidence provided in the results confirming whether the rule was active for the 2025-26 CAF Champions League specifically.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual club football competition organized by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAF_Champions_League

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

“The Moroccan military side were roared on by a loud 60,000-strong crowd at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results for this claim returned irrelevant content regarding dating apps ('Match') and did not provide information about the attendance or venue for the match.

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web search NEUTRAL — Welcome to Match, where you can be your most confident, authentic, open, and curious self with a community of daters like you. Our members are emotionally mature adults who want meaningful relationshi…
https://www.match.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 9, 2026 · Read our Match review to find out more about using the dating platform, including how it works and our tester’s experience using the platform.
https://www.forbes.com/health/dating/match-review/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Match has you to sign up, create a profile, answer some questions, and upload your photos. Match does all of this without disclosing they charge you if you respond to a message you sent to someone the…
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/match-dating-app-chat-meet/id3…

info

“Hrimat was thwarted when Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams saved a penalty the military side were awarded in the 76th minute.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results for this claim returned irrelevant content regarding gaming websites ('op.gg') and did not provide information about a penalty save by Ronwen Williams.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 18, 2022 · League of graphs is pretty good, it's the one I use the most because it has custom games in the match history, convenient when you're scouting a tournament opponent. And overall it has …
https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/us9m1z/wha…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 11, 2022 · The decline of opgg This website has gone from the best to just almost awful over the last few years. Does anyone have any insider knowledge on wtf is up with it? Are they too cheap to …
https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/u0va3w/the…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sep 9, 2020 · But unfortunately there is no China server on opgg. So i would like to know if there is any equivalent of opgg in China or any other way for us to keep up with their soloq. Thanks!! Arch…
https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/ipmjac/is_…

info

“Cardoso was the losing coach in the two previous Champions League finals, when Esperance of Tunisia lost to Egypt’s Al Ahly in 2024 and with Sundowns last year when they were beaten by Pyramids of Egypt.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result mentions Miguel Cardoso lost the 2024 CAF Champions League final with Esperance, but there is no corroboration from a second independent source regarding the specific sequence of losses mentioned.

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web search NEUTRAL — Espérance Sportive de Tunis won the CAF Champions League in 2011 and received the FIFA Fair Play Award at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019. There is a certain ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espérance_Sportive_de_Tunis

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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago ... Tonight, Coach Miguel Cardoso has the opportunity to make history with Mamelodi Sundowns by becoming the first coach to eliminate Espérance de ...
https://www.facebook.com/Greatafrica6/posts/-he-lost-the-202…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 9 hours ago ... Interesting facts about #MamelodiSundowns coach Miguel Cardoso! He won back-to-back championship titles! 2023/24 Tunisian Ligue Professionelle ...
https://www.facebook.com/100012408215319/posts/-cafcl-miguel…

help

“Bafana Bafana captain Williams said”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm Ronwen Williams is the captain of Bafana Bafana.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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Vital away goal was always on the cards, says Sundowns coach Cardoso

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