Mamelodi Sundowns booked their spot in the CAF Champions League semi-finals after overcoming Esperance over two legs in the quarter-finals.
Cardoso handed starts to Arthur Sales and Divine Lunga following the first-leg win, with Aubrey Modiba and Iqraam Rayners dropping to the bench.
The Brazilians enjoyed most of the possession in the early stages of the first half, similar to the first leg, but there was a lack of clear-cut openings in the final third.
Esperance struggled to stamp their authority on the encounter and had to rely on counter-attacks on home soil to try and disturb Sundowns, who were confident on the ball for large parts of the first half.
The Tunisians nearly got the opening goal against the run of play as Yan Sasse surged into the box on the left before drilling the ball into the six-yard area, where Khuliso Mudau popped up with a vital block.
However, Sundowns nearly silenced the home fans just before the break when Marcelo Allende rattled the crossbar with a thunderous strike from distance, just moments after Lucas Costa Ribeiro went close with a curling effort.
The home side saw a lot of the ball in the opening stages of the second and also introduced Bafana Bafana winger Elias Mokwena to bolster their attacking presence.
Esperance had the ball in the back of the net after 63 minutes through a clinical finish from Achref Jabri in the box, but the celebrations were cut short due to an offside after long check from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
With the hosts pushing for the go-ahead goal on the night, Sundowns nearly snuck one in at the other end in the final five minutes but Ben Said did well to keep out Peter Shalulile's powerful strike from distance.
Nevertheless, Sundowns were able to hold off on the late push from Esperance and sealed their spot in the semi-finals, where they will meet old foes Al Ahly.
Confirmed line-ups:
Esperance: Ben Said, Jelassi, Tka, Rodrigues, Sasse, Belaili, Bouchniba, Onuche, Tougai, Hamida, Konate
Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Mudau, Kekana, Suarez, Lunga, Allende, Mokoena, Adams, Ribeiro, Sales, Shalulile
Subs: Onyango, Khoza, Mdunyelwa, Tiwani, Modiba, Aubaas, Esquivel, Matthews, Rayners
