Jelusic says ready for Flames’ test

MASERU – Lesotho national coach Veselin Jelusic says this month’s friendly match against Malawi will benefit Likuena’s preparations and test their readiness for back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Zambia in March.

The Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) announced on Monday that Likuena will travel to Lilongwe to face Malawi on February 25.

Both nations are preparing for their respective 2023 AFCON qualifiers next month when Likuena will play Zambia while Malawi take on Egypt.

Because the fixture in Lilongwe falls outside FIFA’s international dates, Lesotho will only use locally based players and Malawi are likely to do the same.

Likuena’s foreign based players will only link up with the team closer to the two matches against Zambia.

Likuena are scheduled to play Zambia away on March 20 with the return game on March 28.

Jelusic said Malawi offers the perfect preparation for Zambia.

“We will be able to look at our combinations and the fact that Malawi will be at home is the kind of pressure we need as we prepare for Zambia,” Likuena’s Serbian mentor said.

“Malawi is a very tough and good side like Zambia. They will surely throw everything at us to win the match being the home team,” Jelusic added.

After two AFCON qualifying games, Likuena are bottom of Group H which also includes Comoros and Ivory Coast. Likuena lost 2-0 to Comoros in their opener but played to a spirited 0-0 draw with giants Ivory Coast.

Both games were played last June.

Likuena will again host Zambia in South Africa because Setsoto Stadium, which was Lesotho’s only CAF-approved facility, remains banned from hosting international matches after CAF found it seriously inadequate in May 2021.

CAF made recommendations of what needs to be fixed at Setsoto and the government has been making promises but little has come from them.

This month, LEFA received an update from the government on the status of Setsoto. The association was told there is no money for the renovations and nothing has changed.

The update from the government is also bad news for Vodacom Premier League teams because the winner of the league will not be enrolled in the CAF Champions League unless the stadium is returned to the required standards.

Last November, LEFA announced that it is quitting CAF’s continental club competitions until further notice because of the inability to host matches in Lesotho.

Bantu are currently leading the Vodacom Premier League table with a five-point lead over Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) but neither of them would enjoy the benefits of competing internationally.

When suspending Lesotho’s participation in continental club competitions, LEFA cited high costs of hosting games in South Africa because of Setsoto’s unavailability.

Tlalane Phahla