.
. . skipper Nkau Lerotholi says national team expects
nothing less than three points against Algeria
Moorosi Tsiane
NATIONAL football team captain, Nkau Lerotholi, says Likuena will rise to the occasion against the continent’s number one-ranked team, Algeria, in this afternoon’s second qualifier of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at Setsoto Stadium.
Likuena currently occupy third position in Group J with zero points after narrowly losing 2-1 to Ethiopia in the first match of the qualifiers played in Addis Ababa in June this year.
With three points apiece, Algeria and Ethiopia lead the group, while Seychelles languish at the bottom owing to an inferior goal difference to that of Lesotho.
In an interview with the Sunday Express on Thursday after their training session, Lerotholi said morale was high in the Likuena camp ahead of the match, adding that they were expecting nothing less than maximum points.
“We have prepared thoroughly for this match, the spirits are high in the camp and we will be going all out for a win on Sunday,” Lerotholi said.
The Matlama defender said he knew it was not going to be easy to beat the Desert Warriors, as the Algerians are affectionately called, but they were raring to go toe to toe against the North Africans.
“Algeria is a good team with players plying their trade in big European leagues,” he said.
“There is no doubt that beating them would not be a walk in a park, but I think the pressure is more on them than on us. In fact, just playing against them is motivation enough for us.”
Lerotholi said Likuena had been written off by many ahead of the qualifiers against Kenya and Liberia last year, “but we shocked those teams and can still do the same with Algeria”.
“I respect Algeria like any other team that we play, but just look at the last results of the last AFCON qualifiers. No one gave us a chance against the likes of Kenya and Liberia, but we beat those sides and even went on to hold Gabon in a one-all draw here at home,” he said.
The skipper said they were also determined to maintain their solid home record on Sunday.
“We have a good record here at home, and we only lost once in the last five matches we played here with a margin of one goal. So, we would like to keep that record intact, a
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