Khalil Ben Youssef, assistant coach of Kaizer Chiefs during the CAF Confederation Cup 2025/26 - Preliminary Round 2nd Leg match between Kaizer Chiefs and AS Simba at the Dobsonville Stadium, Soweto on the 26 October 2025 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs co-head coach Khalil Ben Youssef believes Amakhosi must beat Cairo giants Zamalek at home on Sunday if they are to have a realistic chance of making it out of the Caf Confederation Cup group stages.
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Chiefs lost 2-1 in Suez against Al Masry on Sunday, putting them on the back foot early in their Group D campaign. The top two in the group will qualify for the quarterfinals.
Chiefs’ Ben Youssef – ‘We cannot afford any mistakes at home’
“Zamalek are one of the best teams in Africa, with huge experience in continental competition. It will be a tough game, but if we want to qualify, we cannot afford any mistakes at home. We need to win our home matches and collect more points away,” Ben Youssef told the Chiefs official website.
Chiefs are expecting a packed stadium on Sunday at their home-away-from-home, the new Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
“We know our fans, we know the stadium, and we know it will be full,” added Ben Youssef.
“Their support means everything. I hope next weekend we’ll win and put ourselves in a better position in the group.”
The Chiefs co-head coach believed his side deserved a point from the game in Suez, but acknowledged that Chiefs’ focus needs to be more sharp in this competition.
Two defensive errors, one from goalkeeper Brandon Petersen and one from captain Inacio Miguel, directly led to both Al Masry goals.
‘It’s very different from the PSL’
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“It’s very different from the PSL. Here you must be more focused, more aggressive. At this level, matches are decided by very small details. If you lose concentration for even one second, you can concede,” said Ben Youssef.
“Looking at our performance, we deserved a minimum of a draw. But we have to learn from our mistakes. We’ll analyse the game, look at the positives and the negatives, and continue to work.”