Miguel Cardoso is not in the good books of Mamelodi Sundowns supporters at the moment, and all eyes will be on him during the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Portuguese’s troubles started when he failed to guide Sundowns against Egyptian side, Pyramids, who beat them in the CAF Champions League final.

Depending on how Sundowns perform in the United States (US), his future at Chloorkop may not be guaranteed.

The Tshwane team will be up against Ulsan from South Korea [18 June], German outfit Borussia Dortmund [21 June] and complete their group stage games against Brazilian side Fluminense [25 June].

Cardoso, who is not worried about his future, says Sundowns are not going to be lambs to the slaughter for any team in the tournament.

“We believe we can challenge ourselves and create challenges for our opponents. That’s what will be the most important thing. We want to compete,” he warned, in conversation with Fifa.com.

“We understand the reality, but we are willing to do our best in every challenge that we’ll face. It’s also a test to see what level we are at.

“We know that in Africa, we are one of the biggest teams, but we also want to understand at what level we can be, compared to different teams around the world.”

Sundowns departed on Sunday for the United States to compete in their second FIFA Club World Cup.

The “Brazilians” played in the 2016 Club World Cup hosted by Japan, where they lost 2-0 to local side Kashima Antlers in the Quarter-finals, before suffering a 4-1 defeat to Korean team Jeonbuk in the fifth-place playoff.