'Homeless' Lesotho turning lemons into lemonade

JOHANNESBURG - Lesotho's national football team will continue their nomadic existence on Friday night when they host South Africa at the Free State Stadium in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier.

Likuena continue to play majority of their home games away from their nation due to a lack of CAF-approved stadiums in the country.

Despite the travel involved in their quest to play competitively, coach Leslie Notsi believes the challenges have also made his side battle hardened.

"It's been very difficult because it has been over two years now playing away,” he reflected on Thursday.

"We miss the support and it's something that as a smaller football nation, you can always rely on your supporters, but it is something beyond our control. But what we also did was say ‘look, let's take this as an advantage for us to grow’. We hosted Morocco in Morocco, one would have never thought that would ever happen but we did that, and I think it’s one of the games that our boys showed character.

It was part of the growth of our team. We may not be leading the group but we are a work in progress. All these matches that we have played outside our backyard have made us a better team in terms of character. We are turning lemons into lemonade."

The build-up to the Group C encounter between the log leaders and their neighbors has not been without controversy.

READ: Broos unfazed by Lesotho's 'nonsense' complaint ahead of World Cup qualifier

This is amid media reports that Lesotho could play the clash under protest should Tebogo Mokoena be selected.

They remain aggrieved at the Mamelodi Sundowns man possibly being ineligible for the clash between the two nations earlier this year, an encounter South Africa won 2-0.

"With us as the technical team, our focus is preparing the team to play, the rest is more for the administrators to deal with," Notsi said about the calls that have come out of their camp.

"Our job is to see that the team is well prepared for the match."

As for how the coach is impacted by the uncertainty around the Mokoena debacle, “of course we have asked ourselves, but there are things we cannot manage and we cannot control,” he said about it.

"So, the best thing is to focus on what you can control and that is preparing the team and waiting for any decision that will be made by those who are in charge. You cannot deal with something that you really don’t know what direction it will take."

South Africa will be without key players such as Themba Zwane and Percy Tau for this clash, while youngsters such as Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Mduduzu Shabalala and Kamogelo Sebelebele have received maiden call-ups.

Despite their much-changed squad, Notsi says Lesotho still go into the encounter against South Africa as the underdogs.

"We are playing a team that has done well in the past, in the last Afcon. They have players who have performed well in their respective clubs in the CAF Champions League. So obviously, the morale there is high and they have a very good coach. But at the same time, it [squad changes] is giving us the motivation to say let’s look at ourselves, where we did well in March, what is it that we can improve on. We are looking forward to the game because it is these kinds of matches that brings out the best from the underdogs."

Kick off at the Free State Stadium tonight is 18:00.