Africa-Press – Lesotho. The senior national team Likuena begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign today in Uyo, Nigeria, against the Super Eagles. Likuena arrived in Nigeria on Monday and had their first training session on Tuesday.
Lesotho held a follow-up session yesterday. Likuena interim coach Leslie Notši said they are expecting a tough encounter this evening as they are playing one of the best footballing countries on the continent.
Notši said Likuena have prepared well in the limited time they have had together, especially when it comes to players who play outside the country. Notši said Likuena is a team that is growing and looking to build on their performance in the 2023 COSAFA Cup in July where Lesotho finished second.
To compete with the big guns on the continent, Likuena have to be competitive in their region first, something Notši believes they did in the COSAFA Cup when they reached the final.
“We played Ivory Coast (in September) and we saw growth even though we lost the game (1-0), but Likuena can absorb the pressure and can play, create chances to score,” Notši said.
“Here is another opportunity against one of the best footballing countries on the continent, let’s see if we are still growing,” he added. Notši said Likuena are determined to pull off a positive result in Uyo.
“We are expecting a tough game tomorrow and we also say our play should show growth as Likuena, we will fight and I still believe we will leave here with many positives going forward as the national team,” he said.
Notši has called several players based outside the country, including striker Thabiso Brown who is making a comeback to the national side after several years out of the fold.
Notši said Brown can provide the team a cutting edge when they get opportunities to score as he is doing well at his club in China. “(When it comes to) the players based outside the country we are lucky that they have been in the team, they bring experience and exposure,” Notši said.
“If you look at someone like Tshwarelo Bereng where he is, his team is playing and leading the log, he is motivated and he is bringing something important, even the young players are close to him,” he added.
Nigeria, on the other hand, have called a strong squad that is heavily dominated by overseas-based players which include defender Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi who both play for Fulham in the English Premier League.
Ademola Lookman, who is on the books of Italian club Atlanta, as well as Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest are some of the other players headlining the Nigerian team.
After the game, Likuena will fly back to Johannesburg where they will board a plane to Durban to face Benin on Tuesday in their second qualifier. Besides Nigeria and Benin, Lesotho still have Zimbabwe, Rwanda and South Africa to face in the group. This is not the first time Lesotho and Nigeria will face-off. They have met before in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
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