Lesotho Coach Unfazed Ahead of Super Eagles Showdown

Lesotho's head coach, Leslie Notši, has made a bold statement ahead of their crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Super Eagles of Nigeria. With a place in the global tournament at stake in CAF Qualification Group C, Nigeria, Benin, and South Africa are all vying for the single qualifying spot. While Lesotho’s hopes of advancing are mathematically slim—currently fifth in the group with nine points from eight games—Notši insists his team is ready for the challenge.

The encounter is set to take place today at the Peter Makoba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa. Notši boasted that his squad is at full strength and has "nothing to fear" against their highly-rated opponents.

Speaking at his pre-match conference, the 61-year-old acknowledged the toughness of facing the Super Eagles: “Fortunately, we don’t have any serious injuries that we can worry about coming into this fixture. So, Its a clean bill of health for us. A fixture that we are expecting a tough match playing one of the best in the continent. A team that consists some of the best players on our continent playing in the best leagues in Europe.”

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Despite the formidable opposition, Notši is focused on frustrating Nigeria, referencing their 1-1 draw in November 2023. “We are approaching this match knowing it’s not going to be easy, but the self belief that we have had before, in our previous encounter… We believe, we have an opportunity to continue where we left off in our last match in November 2023,” he stated. He concluded that this hope has been "truly... given us hope to redeem ourselves in the last two fixtures we played… that we can secure points that we believe can put Lesotho at a better stage.” The Super Eagles have previously won two of their three matches against the Crocodiles in the past six years.