Lesotho are determined to silence Bafana Bafana on Friday evening in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifier that will be played at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
The hosts come into the match as favourites owing to the quality they have, with the Crocodiles coming in as underdogs. However, coach Leslie Notsi is convinced his team can deliver a positive outcome against a fancied Bafana Bafana team.
The visitors are currently placed fourth in the pool with five points, three behind leaders Benin who drew 2-2 with Zimbabwe on Thursday night. Rwanda and South Africa have so far accumulated seven points each from the four matches they have played.
‘Tough outing brings the best out of Lesotho'
“On paper, South Africa is considered a bigger team, but in sporting terms, yes one would always respect opponents, but we have played bigger footballing countries and got results,” the tactician said ahead of the match.
“So giving them respect in that regard is not saying we’re coming here to add numbers or fulfill the day – we know what they possess, we also have the strengths we believe in and we believe this kind of games, we cherish this kind of matches.
“We believe it brings the best out of us, so we’re coming to be very competitive, and hence we’re saying we’re looking forward to this fixture.”
‘We believe an upset can be there'
“Yes [our playing style] has worked for us, we are aware that we’re a work in progress as a team, each match has it’s own merits, tomorrow will be different to Nigeria, or the Morocco matches we played,” Notsi continued.
“But we’re looking at growing and bigger matches gives us an opportunity to engage ourselves much better or more than the previous matches, so this is another test for us, with the quality we have. We have to go for it and see how we can fare.
“We believe an upset can be there, we just need to engage ourselves in the best way we can.”
The game between the two nations will be played from 18.00 SAT.
