The head coach of Lesotho, Leslie Notsi, has said the secret of their stunning performance against the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Thursday was the fact that his team didn’t respect the Eagles.
Lesotho went into their 2026 World Cup qualifiers against the Super Eagles as one of the lowest teams in Africa, ranked 113 places lower than 40th-ranked Nigeria.
Despite that, the Crocodiles, as they are fondly called, held their own and gave an excellent account of themselves to the extent they scored the opening goal.
Super Eagles had to fight from a goal down to draw 1-1 at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, which ought to be a fortress for the Nigerian team.
After the stunning 1-1 draw, the Lesotho coach told reporters that he couldn’t see much difference between his team and the Nigerian team. He also noted that he and his players psyched themselves up with the understanding that they were going against humans like them.
The coach said, “There wasn’t much difference, but there were situations where you could see the quickness and speed, but at the same time I think we didn’t give them respect. We said to ourselves they’re human beings like us, so let us go there and enjoy ourselves. Enjoy, not to go and waste time but the self-belief should be there and the players should express themselves.”
On Tuesday, Lesotho, currently leading Group C with one point and one away goal, will host Benin Republic in their second match of the qualifying series.
While at 2 p.m. on. Nigeria will play their second game in the 2026 World Cup qualification series on Sunday.
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