MASERU - Lesotho's senior soccer squad Likuena will play without Cambodia based Ts'otleho Jane for the forth coming Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) Cup scheduled in Limpopo Province, South Africa from May 27 to June 9.
sports
May 21, 2018
2 min read
Cambodia based Jane takes no part in COSAFA Cup
Likuena has been drawn to face eSwatini's (Swaziland) Isihlangu Semnikati at the quarter-final knock-out to be played in the Limpopo province South Africa from May 27 to June 09 this year. Speaking in an interview, Likuena coach Mr. Moses Maliehe said Jane has moved from United States to the South East Asia nation in Cambodia and that his new club refused to release his citing that the regional COSAFA Cup is not under the FIFA Calendar.
However, Mr. Maliehe found solace for the fact that Luciano Matsoso from Portugal has already joined arrived in the country and will be part of the team.
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Mr. Maliehe stated that Likuena has struggled to find international friendly games but could only get one of the South African National First Division side Jomo Cosmos which is currently preparing for promotional play offs and the match will be played on May 24 away in Johannesburg. He said Cosmos plays a typical game similar to Isihlangu Semnikati which is rough, hard tackling with a lot of pace.
The coach said Likuena is getting ready to face eSwatini counterparts on June 02 at the quarter-final of the COSAFA Cup after both teams got byes from the group stages. “We are hoping to get a second game on our way to Johannesburg in order to fine tune our preparations for the COSAFA Cup,” he stressed.
Mr. Maliehe said he will be taking a total of 23 players but will be trimmed to 20 after the two friendly matches even though he lamented that striker Lits'epe Marabe is currently nursing a groin injury and is still be assessed by the physiotherapist while Jane Thaba Nts'o has since fully recovered.
Likuena won the COSAFA Fair play award for the third time in a row after beating invited guests Tanzania 1-0 in the opening match before losing the second game 4-3 against the eventual competition winners Zimbabwe in an entertaining game last year.
However, Likuena went on to face Namibia winning the match 1-0 to be crowned the Fair Play Award at the tournament hosted in North West, South Africa but the coach is hoping to improve from last year's performance saying he was tired of being crowned A Fair Play award. .
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