Orlando Pirates are brimming with confidence as they prepare to face Kaizer Chiefs in Sunday’s Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium, kick‑off at 15:00.
The Buccaneers won the previous meeting 3‑0 in February and currently sit top of the Betway Premiership. Chiefs, meanwhile, arrive on the back of a six‑match unbeaten run, making the encounter even more intriguing.
Assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi has stressed that Pirates will not be drawn into respecting reputations or club sizes ahead of the clash.
“One danger that we avoid is measuring teams before we play them. The size and name of the team have no consequence on how you perform on the day,” Ncikazi said.
The former Maritzburg United coach insisted that Pirates have built their season on a consistent approach, and that should not change because of the derby atmosphere. The technical team, he said, is focused on playing the game — not the occasion.
“It’s the analysis. If you look at the matches, where we did not do well, where we played draws, you would not have predicted that before you played them. So for me, it’s just to analyse the opponents before we play them.
“We analyse the threat they pose to our team, how we can manipulate and try to impose ourselves. We avoid looking at the names, but we just look at the opponents based on what they do on the field of play.
“Whether it’s Stellenbosch or Orbit at the end, it doesn’t matter. We just have to approach them the same way with the same mentality of trying to get three points,” the Pirates assistant concluded.
Piala Dunia 2026
Piala Dunia FIFA 2026 akan menjadi edisi paling revolusioner dalam sejarah sepak bola dunia. Turnamen ini untuk pertama kalinya akan diselenggarakan di tiga negara sekaligus, yaitu Amerika Serikat, Kanada, dan Meksiko. Selain itu, jumlah peserta juga meningkat dari 32 menjadi 48 tim, membuka peluang lebih besar bagi negara-negara dari berbagai konfederasi untuk tampil di panggung global. Format baru ini akan menghadirkan lebih banyak pertandingan, atmosfer kompetisi yang lebih luas, serta jangkauan penonton yang semakin besar di seluruh dunia.
Dengan skala yang jauh lebih besar, FIFA menargetkan turnamen ini sebagai ajang yang tidak hanya kompetitif tetapi juga spektakuler dari sisi teknologi dan pengalaman penonton. Stadion-stadion modern di berbagai kota tuan rumah telah dipersiapkan untuk menghadirkan pertandingan berkelas dunia, didukung oleh inovasi seperti peningkatan sistem VAR dan pengalaman digital bagi fans. diprediksi akan menjadi tonggak baru dalam evolusi sepak bola internasional, memperkuat popularitas olahraga ini sekaligus menciptakan momen-momen bersejarah yang akan dikenang dalam waktu lama.
