Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has revealed three of his players had injuries before the much-anticipated clash against Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Glamour Boys produced a stunning comeback to knock out defending champions Sundowns 2-1 and reach the final of the 2025 Nedbank Cup in South Africa.
The semi-final victory, secured at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, sets up a mouth-watering Soweto derby final against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates – the first meeting between the two giants in a domestic cup final since 2006.
After the game, Nasreddine Nabi disclosed had injury issues before the crucial encounter.
“Maybe before the game, we didn’t discuss injured players. But maybe now it’s the time to say before this game we lost Miguel. We were unlucky between Dove and Zitha. All of them they got injury also. Let me say Dove played today with injury. Zitha was also on the bench with injury”
“Also, Thabo Cele got injury. All of them they played with injury today. When you see the performance of our players today, you can understand how much they love this team and how much they deserve to be in this team. We did it for the fans to make them happy and to make them proud of us” he added.
The 2025 final, set for Saturday, 10 May at Moses Mabhida Stadium, will revive one of South African football’s most iconic rivalries, with Chiefs and Pirates contesting their first national cup final since the 2006 Absa Cup.
