10/10/2026
MTN8 FINAL ORLANDO PIRATES ๐ MAMELODI SUNDOWNS โ HISTORY vs HUNGER
๐ The MTN8 has become Orlando Pirates' house. The question today: do Sundowns finally kick the door down?
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Kick-off: Saturday 10 Oct, 18:00 โ Moses Mabhida Stadium, live on SABC 1 & SuperSport* 0951
Pirates are chasing the impossible โ five consecutive MTN8 titles. No club in SA history has ever won any cup five times in a row. They've already made history just by reaching five straight finals after beating Sekhukhune United 4-0 on aggregate, and they own the last four titles: AmaZulu (2022), Sundowns (2023 on penalties), Stellenbosch (2024 & 2025).
Sundowns? For all their league dominance (8 titles in a row before Pirates broke it last season) and their CAF Champions League win in May, they have lifted the MTN8 only ONCE since 2007 (2021). They've lost 7 of 11 finals in this competition. Cardoso needs this to prove he can win domestic cups.
Pirates Unbeaten in 25 matches across all comps. 7 straight clean sheets in domestic games before the final. 19 points from 21 in the league.
Sundowns Undefeated in 13 of last 14, 6 wins in last 7. They came back from a first-leg loss to Golden Arrows to reach the final 3-3 on away goals.
โ๏ธ Head-to-head is tight Three straight 1-1 draws then Sundowns won 2-1 at Orlando Stadium in February. But in cups, Pirates have owned Sundowns since 2022 โ knocking them out in the 2022 semis (3-0 agg), 2023 final (penalties, Chaine saved 3), and last season's semis on penalties again.
๐ก TACTICAL BATTLE
Cardoso will want control: Mokoena (if fit), Allende, and possession. Ouaddou will want chaos: press the first 15 mins hard โ he said himself the first 15 minutes decide cup finals โ then hit on transition.
Key matchup: Oswin Appollis vs Aubrey Modiba. Appollis is in hot form โ 2 goals, 2 assists in 7 league games and 3 assists for Bafana vs Eritrea last week. If he gets 1v1, Pirates win.
Other side: Ronwen Williams. Sundowns' captain will need to be perfect. Pirates have scored last in every recent knockout meeting.
โ๐ฝ ELITE PERSPECTIVE PREDICTION*
This will be cagey. Neither team wants to make the first mistake. Expect 1-1 in 90 minutes โ bookmakers are predicting exactly that.
But finals are won by mentality.
Pirates know how to win THIS trophy in Durban. Sundowns know how to win EVERYWHERE ELSE.
My call: Orlando Pirates 2-1 after extra time. They equal Kaizer Chiefs' all-time record of 15 MTN8 titles and make it FIVE in a row.
If Sundowns win, it will be because Iqraam Rayners or Brayan Leรณn punishes Pirates early and Cardoso parks the game.
Who you backing? Drop your score prediction in the comments.
