After the first leg win, Kaizer Chiefs will host Moroccan giants Wydad Athletic for Caf Champions League semifinal second leg. Game to take place at FNB Stadium on Saturday evening.
Amakhosi won the first leg 1-0 via Samir Nurković’s strike in Morocco last week. And they will qualify for their first Champions League final if they can keep their lead against the two-time champions.
According to defender Reeve Frosler, who has featured in nine of Chiefs’ 13 matches in the Champions League, ignoring all the hype and concentrating on what they need to do to win Saturday’s match has been an important part of his preparation.
“It’s difficult. But we just have to focus on the game. And not worry about the external things and what people are saying externally.” Said Frosler, who played in last week’s game where midfielder Njabulo Blom crossed for Nurković to score the all-important goal in the 34th minute.
“It is a very big game for us if you look at what we’ve achieved so far. We’ve done well and we now have got an opportunity to go even further. We just have to keep our focus and drive all the way.”
Chiefs could meet Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly in the final in Morocco on July 17 if they can beat Wydad for a third match in a row. Like Chiefs, record nine-time winners Ahly beat Esperance 1-0 away in Tunisia in their first leg on Saturday.
Chiefs lost 4-0 away to Wydad in their opening encounter in the group stages. But a 1-0 victory in a return leg helped the club make it to the knockout phase, where they beat Tanzanian club Simba SC 4-3 on aggregate in the quarters.
“Going to Morocco was challenging. And we expect another challenging game in SA. It’s another fight for us. Another challenge that lies ahead in our Caf journey. We’ll embrace it and do the job to the best of our ability again.” Frosler said.
Amakhosi will become the third South African club after Orlando Pirates (1995) and Mamelodi Sundowns (2016) to have a star next to their badge if they go all the way and win the Champions League.
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