The CAF Champions League quarter-final draw took place at the continental governing body’s headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday and after lots of thrill and action from the group stage, the last eight is set to be even more intense.
Afrosport reviews the winners and losers from the draw as we countdown to the first leg of the fixture in the last week of April.
WINNERS
Wydad Casablanca
The defending champions took control of Group A by finishing on top ahead of JS Kabylie, Petro Atletico de Luanda and AS Vita.
They will get to face Simba SC of Tanzania who finished second in Group C behind Raja Casablanca. Simba are arguably the least difficult opponent in the quarter-final draw as the bulk of participants are Northern African sides who have dominated the most in the history of the Champions League.
Simba have never gone past the Champions League quarter-finals which they reached in 2019 and 2021 and will have it all to do against their opponents who are three-time Champions League winners. It is also worth noting Simba lost 6-1 on aggregate to Wydad’s rivals Raja in the group stage which could make things straight forward for Wydad to progress to the semi-finals.
Mamelodi Sundowns
The Brazilians are the only non-North African team in the quarter-finals after Simba SC and finished top in Group B ahead of Al Ahly, Al Hilal Omdurman and Coton Sport.
Sundowns might be facing a North African opponent in Belouizdad of Algeria but they have a track record of handling such opponents, evidenced by finishing above the Champions League’s most successful team Al Ahly and also defeating another Egyptian heavyweight in Zamalek in the final in 2016.
Sundowns have also been able to balance continental participation with domestic commitments where they lead Orlando Pirates by a massive 20 points in the South African Premier Soccer League. They clearly look poised to reach the semi-finals for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Mark your calendars! ????
The 2022/23 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL quarter-finals fixtures. ???? pic.twitter.com/xnbGIqKThD
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LOSERS
Al Ahly
The Red Devils were close to not making out of the group stage as they sat third in Group B going into the final round fixtures. They were however able to get the job done by thumping Al Hilal Omdurman 3-0 to finish second.
It however does not take away what was a disappointing campaign as they failed to beat Sundowns over two legs and were only able to accrue the most points against Coton Sport who finished bottom with no points on board.
Coming up against Raja Casablanca who accrued the most points in the group stage (16 points) will be a very tricky challenge for Ahly. They might be 10-time Champions League winners, winning it back-to-back in 2020 and 2021 but they have not just been at their strongest this term.
JS Kabylie
The Algerian outfit finished second in Group A and have a molehill to climb when they face Esperance of Tunisia.
This might be another North African derby but Esperance have the edge over Kabylie. They are four-time champions, winning it back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
Kabylie meanwhile are appearing in the Champions League for the first time since the 2019-20 season where they finished third behind Esperance and Raja Casablanca. Before then, their last outing was in 2010 when they reached the semi-finals. That however was a long period and the present day does not suggest they are strong enough to overcome Esperance.
Catch the CAF Champions League quarter-finals LIVE on AFROSPORT TV across Nigeria, channel 730 on Free TV and stream online via Vidivu TV.
