Lesotho, Ethiopia clash in international friendly
Lesotho’s Likuena and Ethiopia Walia Ibex are set for a showdown at the Addis Ababa Stadium in an international friendly match on Thursday afternoon as the two countries fine tune preparations for the 2026 World Cup qualifier slated for June.
Likuena coach Notši has kept faith in majority of the players that played Nigeria and Benin in their two Group C opening matches but have also handed call ups to new faces such as Mojalefa Ntsane and Majare Relebeletsoe, who play their trade in South Africa.
Ethiopia on the other hand is in Group A that boasts continental powerhouses in Egypt and Burkina Faso, which Notši feels make them a good opponent ahead of their June fixtures against Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
“We have had a few sessions with all the players which included our players that play their football outside the country as the matches against Ethiopia are very important hence, we are utilizing this FIFA break to prepare our team,” Notši stated.
“This could probably be the only international match we will get to play using all our players before the big World Cup matches in June and we will treat it with all the respect it deserves.”
Notši stated that his side has made major strikers in recent months after reaching the final of the COSAFA Cup and giving powerhouses like Ivory Coast and Nigeria a run for their money in their last fixtures.
“The matches against Ethiopia will give us a picture of how far we have gone and what the players we have selected can give us in the build-up to matches against Zimbabwe and Rwanda,” the Likuena coach said.
“The team has seen a lot of grown in recent months attracting attention from other teams as well as Basotho in general, who all want to see more growth from the team and is our goal as well as the technical team.
“We are happy with the new faces of Basotho players in diaspora as they already play their football in countries like South Africa and they are bringing more competition to the team,” he said.
The last three meetings between the two countries have ended in a one-all stalemate with the last being played in May 2022, in Adama while Likuena was still under the mentorship of Serbian, Veselin Jelusic.
“Ethiopia have proved to be a very tough side having caused upsets against some of the continent’s giants in their previous matches and they will sure give us a good test as they also have important matches coming up soon,” added Notši.
He admitted that playing an East African country could prove helpful as they play Rwanda, who are a closed book to Likuena and have never played Lesotho before.
“We have a match coming up against Rwanda, who are a close book to us as we have never played against them but playing against their east African rivals Ethiopia can give us a taste of what to expert in June.
Rwanda and Lesotho have thus far been the surprised packages of Group C with the East African having beaten South Africa 2-0 and collected a point in a goalless stalemate against Zimbabwe while Likuena held Nigeria to a one-all draw in Uyo which was followed by a goalless draw against Benin.
Rwanda are at the summit of Group C with four points while Likuena occupy fourth spot ahead of Zimbabwe and Benin with two points.
