LIKUENA have yet to take part in a FIFA World Cup or AFCON and the 40-year-old head coach Thabo Senong is looking to the younger generation to turn this around. He had previously led South Africa to two FIFA U-20 World Cups.

In Lesotho, people always tell the same old story, and it certainly is a sad one. It's about a country that is crazy about football but which, so far, has been unable to celebrate its passion for the beautiful game at a major tournament. Of the 22 FIFA World Cups™ and 32 CAF Africa Cup of Nations to date, Likuena have never managed to be among the participants.

Even if they do not manage to break that barren spell in time for Qatar 2022, Likuena are still looking to turn things around at least from a continental point of view by 2022, and hopefully then begin a new chapter en route to the FIFA World Cup 2026. Lesotho is taking a long-term approach and banking on youth, both on and off the pitch, with the South African-born Senong having been named coach.

"I really don’t think that age is an issue for a coach," Senong told FIFA.com. "I’ve seen a lot of young coaches who have had success around the world, including Rinus Michels, Franz Beckenbauer, Arrigo Sacchi, Roberto Martinez and Carlos Alberto Parreira."

The man who began coaching at just 20 is also certain he will get his players to respect him, even though he is just a few years older than some of them:

"I have always relied on my passion and my values as a person – that’s what’s important to me. I have the experience I need to help players and teams develop."

Twenty is also the age of the players that Senong has had the most success with to date. As South Africa U-20 coach from 2015 to 2019, he won the COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup in 2017 and led the Amajitas to the FIFA U-20 World Cups™ of 2017 and 2019, which were won by England and Ukraine respectively.

"In terms of tactics, the teams from Europe and Asia were slightly ahead of the African ones," he said.

"They relied more on team tactics and cognitive skills to win matches, whereas the teams from Africa, South America and Concacaf were mainly focused on individuals with certain athletic qualities and skill-sets."

Taking that experience on board, Senong has now moved up to a full international set-up and is having to adapt his methods to an older, more mature squad.

"The transition from youth to senior international level isn’t an easy one,” said the Soweto native. “I have had to adapt and be flexible to get the best out of the players. I’ve had to adjust my style of coaching to allow players to make contributions of their own.