Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has confirmed the club made a late call-up of Zuko Mdunyelwa to join the squad in the United States for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Mdunyelwa, 26, was named on the official 35-man squad list but initially didn’t travel with the group to the US, along with six others, as reported by iDiski Times.
However, Cardoso confirmed the technical team felt it was best to add him to the traveling group, and he is now with the team in the States.
“It’s very tough for a coach to make choices, where he has to leave players apart,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“He’s not putting players apart; he’s just making a decision that doesn’t bring them to the competition.
“I remember Zuko, for example, was with us in the group for the CAF Champions League second leg. He didn’t come immediately with us [to the USA] but now he joined the group because we decided to bring him to the group.
“Each player has a different situation. What is important is that we understand that the moment we are here is a very, very important moment for us.
“We dreamt for this moment, made it our objective, fought for our lives to be at this moment.”
Terrence Mashego, Matias Esquivel, Thapelo Maseko, Ntando Nkosi, Sanele Tshabalala, Kegan Johannes and Thato Sibiya are part of the official squad list but have not traveled to the US.
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