Lesotho interim national coach Leslie Notši has bemoaned missed opportunities after Likuena suffered their first defeat in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying with a 1-0 loss to Rwanda on Tuesday. Likuena hosted the tie at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa, and the visitors stole the lead on the stroke of halftime after a tense first half.
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Thanks to Lesotho’s lack of a cutting edge in the second half, the solitary goal was enough to see Rwanda walk away with a crucial three points that sent them top of Group C ahead of Likuena who dropped to fourth.
Likuena went into Tuesday’s clash high on confidence and on cloud nine following a sensational 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe last Friday.
Rethabile Rasethuntša and Jane Thabantšo were on the scoresheet against the Warriors at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg as Lesotho registered their first victory in the qualifiers.
It was only Lesotho’s third win in 29 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, a run stretching back to the qualifying campaign for the 1974 finals and the triumph sent Likuena top of the group that includes African heavyweights Nigeria and South Africa over the weekend.
Likuena had hoped to carry that form into the clash with Rwanda and Notši said the 1-0 reverse could have been different if Likuena had been clinical in front of goals.
“I think for about 15 minutes we managed to absorb the pressure that they gave and we started playing but I think there was a lot of anxiety levels in some of our players, especially upfront,” Notši said.
“We had goal scoring opportunities and we were not clinical on those opportunities that we had, and, unfortunately, again at a very crucial time, just few minutes before halftime, we conceded,” he said
Likuena put up a spirited second half performance but it was not enough and they have now been knocked to fourth position after starting the campaign undefeated with draws against Nigeria and Benin and the 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe.
Not all is lost for Lesotho, however, and there is still plenty to play for.
There are six more games in this marathon qualifying campaign including a two-legged tie against South Africa.
It is not going to be easy for Likuena as they are now chasing three teams in front of them for top spot – South Africa, Rwanda and Benin – with only one nation guaranteed plane tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
However, all those games will be played next year and, for now, Notši and his charges can use the time to regroup and improve.
Notši said there were many positives from the team’s display and he insisted Likuena is a work in progress. He said Likuena’s technical staff are satisfied with how the team performed under pressure.
“We knew that second half (against Rwanda) was going to be difficult because we could sense that (Rwanda) would up their game which they did, but we made some changes which gave us options in terms of offensive play. We could see that our transitions were much better, we did try to create goal scoring opportunities but on the day we could not score,” Notši said.
When Likuena went into this World Cup double-header, there were six points on offer and they have managed to return home with half of that.
Despite the defeat to Rwanda, it has been a good week for the national team and they will have to learn from their mistakes.
Likuena will now turn their attention to the 2024 COSAFA Cup slated to kickoff next month where they will hope to go one better after losing in the final last year.
Tlalane Phahla
