Head Coach of Lesotho men’s national team Leslie Notsi has said his players showed the Super Eagles no respect in their Group C 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Uyo on Thursday.
Despite going into the game as heavy favourites, the Super Eagles could only settle for a 1-1 draw.
This is the first time Lesotho will avoid defeat against the Eagles in five meetings.
After holding out to a goalless affair in the first half, Lesotho took a shock 1-0 lead in the 56th minute through Motlomelo Mkwanazi.
West Brom defender Semi Ajayi equalized in the 67th minute with a powerful header also from a corner.
All efforts to get the winner failed to materialize as Lesotho held on to claim a share of the points.
The Eagles will hope to bounce back from the disappointing result against Lesotho as they will travel to Rwanda to face Zimbabwe on Sunday, 19 November.
The Zimbabweans held Rwanda to a 0-0 draw in their first game on Wednesday.
Commenting on the draw in his post-match, Lesotho coach Notsi said:“We did not give them (Super Eagles) respect because they are the same human beings like us.
“We decided to go on the pitch and enjoy ourselves but the enjoyment is not to go there and waste time but self believe should be there, they should express themselves on the areas they are good at.“
He revealed that he and his coaching staff had studied the Super Eagles players.
“We have followed the team and saw areas we feel we can capitalize on, where we thought we had chances of coming up with something. So, there’s a lot we’ve learnt from this.”
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
