Mafoso expects Lesotho to face stern test against Morocco in AFCON qualifier

Lesotho coach Bob Mafoso says his team must rise to the challenge when they face Africa’s top-ranked side Morocco in their second Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Morocco began their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Gabon in Rabat at the weekend, having recently returned from the FIFA World Cup in the Americas. Lesotho, meanwhile, opened with a 2-1 defeat by Niger in Accra.

The Atlas Lions reached the final of the previous AFCON, and Mafoso accepts that earning points against them will be a demanding task.

“This is what we signed for, these are games that will help us to improve our team. We are still looking for the first qualification, it’s only the second game, we know how difficult it’s going to be,” Mafoso said.

Lesotho have faced Morocco several times in recent years, giving Mafoso and his players some experience of the challenge ahead. The coach also watched the North Africans during the World Cup.

“We have played a couple of times in recent years and we know who they are, we were watching them at the World Cup. We know they’ve won their first game, we’ve lost our first game but even though we lost our first game we know that we are doing well enough.

“The past two days I think when you are a coach you are happy if you don’t have any injuries. We are happy with where we are and we are just today trying to prepare but the preparation doesn’t start today, it started a couple of weeks back.

“We are ready for the match, we should be ready after the training session today, so, I think that’s just as far as everything is concerned.”

Mafoso says Lesotho’s previous meetings with Morocco provide useful knowledge, although they also underline the scale of the task facing his side.

“That is what makes it even more difficult, having played them before and we made it very difficult for them to get the score line that we wanted during that first game and then we went back for the second game, it was tough,” the coach added.

“It is an advantage for us having played them before because at least we know that they are just human like any other team but what makes it more difficult now is them knowing that we can make it more difficult for them with the quality, their class, everything.

“Having to prepare makes it a hell of a task for us but like I said, these are games that will improve our team. It’s an opportunity for our players to show their talent against the best in the world.

“Sometimes for you to become a different player you need to compete against the best, which is an opportunity that we grab with both hands.”