LIKUENA head coach, Veselin Jelusic has applauded a spirited performance by his charges in last week Thursday night’s goalless draw against star-studded Cote d’voire at the Dobsonville Stadium in Gauteng, South Africa.
sports
June 13, 2022
OWN CORRESPONDENT
3 min read
Jelusic applauds brave Likuena
Likuena head coach, Veselin Jelusic
Story highlights
Likuena hold Cote d’voire to goalless draw
Coach says his charges deserve chance to play in big leagues
The West African country headed to the match at the back of a 3-1 victory over Zambia in Abidjan while Lesotho got off their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign on a bad note, losing 2-0 to Comoros in Moroni.
The Serbia- born gaffer told a media briefing that his team had to be well organised if it were to grind a positive result against the Jean Louis Gasset-coached side.
“In football terms, they are one of the best football countries in Africa and are the host of the next Africa Cup of Nations. They are of course preparing for this tournament,” Jelusic told journalists.
“They are very ambitious and have a quality team. We know how many professional players they have in different European teams, in highly competitive leagues and we will always respect them.
“But at the same time, we respect ourselves as well and of course we respect each opponent. But we will never give up and we will always fight to achieve better results as much as possible.”
Lesotho are at the bottom of Group H with a point while the three other teams have already registered victories from the opening two matches.
Likuena will take on Zambia in back-to-back matches in the next round of the qualifiers.
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Lesotho are at the bottom of Group H with a point while the three other teams have already registered victories from the opening two matches.
Likuena will take on Zambia in back-to-back matches in the next round of the qualifiers.
“We are realistic and, in future games against strong African opponents, probably, we will maintain the same approach, but add something else in our offensive play,” the Lesotho coach said.
He stated that it was ideal for Lesotho players to get opportunities to play in bigger leagues as they proved their quality against one the continent’s top ranked side.
“Of course, one of our ideas is to see these players getting chances to play in the premier league in South Africa. It will help us when we play against strong national teams and let’s hope these things will happen in the future.
“Yes, the COSAFA Cup is another opportunity for our players to showcase their value and promote themselves as we mentioned. It will be a chance for them to come to strong clubs and play professional football,” he said.
The article has been supplied by LeFA Information Office
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