Mikia Kalati
MASERU — Likuena will on Thursday troop into camp to prepare for next month’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Ghana.
Leslie Notsi’s charges have about three weeks to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the trip to the West African country.
Likuena face the Black Stars of Ghana in the opening Group D match in Accra on either June 2 or 3.
They face another tricky encounter when they take on Sudan at Setsoto Stadium on June 10.
In recent weeks the team’s senior players criticised the association for its failure to call an early camp ahead of the two crucial matches.
Ghana, the four-time African Cup of Nations winners, have also been experiencing problems of their own of late.
The Ghana Football Association recently fired Serbian-born coach Milovan Rajevac over poor results and replaced him with former youth teams’ coach, James Kwesi Appiah.
Speaking in an interview with the Sunday Express on Friday, Notsi said he would only announce his team on Thursday.
The former Matlama and Lioli coach said he would keep faith in the players who did duty when the team was knocked out of the 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifiers by minors Sao Tomè and Principe in January.
There will also be some new faces in the team.
“I will include a number of players who have been in top form for their sides in the Vodacom premier league,” Notsi said.
“But the core of the team will be from the tried and tested players who have been in these kinds of matches before.”
The coach said the team would be mostly made up of experienced campaigners who outclassed Burundi in the preliminary stage of the same competition in November last year.
He said he was confident the players would be ready for the test against the West African giants.
There will also be a place for club-less striker Thapelo Tale.
The speedy forward recently parted ways with Serbian side FC Scrum and has been training with his former team Likhopo to keep in shape.
Tale’s strike in Likuena’s 2-2 draw against Burundi in Bujumbura last year in November helped Lesotho secure a group stage slot.
Likuena knocked out Burundi on 3-2 aggregate to qualify for the group stages of the World Cup that will be hosted by Brazil in 2014.
Lesotho has been paired in Group D along with African powerhouses Ghana, reigning champions Zambia and Sudan.
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