Notši reacts to Lesotho Afcon 2025 draw

Lesotho coach Leslie Notši has shared his thoughts on the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations draw after his side were drawn in Group B against Morocco, Gabon, and the Central Africa Republic.

The Confederations of African Football (CAF) conducted the draw in Johannesburg on Thursday for the next year’s edition of the tournament scheduled for Morocco.

Likuena, as the Lesotho national team is affectionately known, have for the second successive qualifiers of the tournament, been drawn against the hosts country as they were in the same group as Cote D’voire during the qualifiers of the 2023 edition.

Notši is adamant his side will once again rise to the occasion against a powerhouse like Morocco in the same way they did against the Elephants as well as Nigeria in the recent 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

“The draw is very interesting because when you have the host in your group, it means they qualify automatically for the tournament and you have to double your efforts to secure the remaining qualification spot which will be contested by the three other teams in the group,” Lesotho Coach Leslie Notši says.

“We will work very hard to see to it that we are competitive side and try as much as we can to get maximum points in matches against countries that are with us in our group.

“It will be very important to well in our home games and I know all eyes will be on Morocco as the hosts and a powerhouse in our group, but we will draw inspiration from recent games where we played the likes of Nigeria as well as Cote D’voire and were able to frustrate them.”