Lesotho is not a soccer nation like Group C struggling rivals Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco or AFCON holders Cote d’Ivoire. They are one of the least ranked countries in the ongoing 2026 World Cup Africa qualifiers, sitting 149th in the world. Their football is nothing to write home about. However, they have been a surprise package during the ongoing World Cup qualifiers. No one gave them a chance to even earn a single point in Group C which comprises comprising Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Benin. But, shockingly, after three games, they haven’t lost a single match in their last three outings, having drawn against Benin and Nigeria before beating Zimbabwe on Thursday, June 6. ALSO READ: WC 2026: Qualifiers key duels to watch as Lesotho host Rwanda Things have not been easy for the Southern African nation over the past decades. In September 2009, their national team was engaged in a match fixing scandal during a friendly game with Malaysia in which each player was paid $3000 by a betting company to play it softly. They were fined by the world football governing body FIFA. Lesotho have never been to the AFCON and the biggest achievement in their football history is finishing 2nd in the COSAFA Cup in 2000 and 2023. Strangely enough, the fortunes of the Crocodiles have changed overnight. They sacked Serbian tactician Veslin Jelusic in March 2024 and appointed native Leslie Notsi as the new head coach. It was his sixth spell in the national team having previously coached them in 2009, 2011-2013, 2021-22, and 2023. Notsi is not new to the team as he knows the players inside out and that has worked perfectly for them to get the needed results. Again, one main key thing which has helped Lesotho is that most of the players are locals and it is easy to assemble them. They are called to training camp even if there are no assignments. They know themselves well, there is that bond and they understand each other's style of play. Moreover, they have kept a very low profile as they do not have any renowned players, there is no iconic player and they play as a unit. They play without any pressure like no one has assigned them a specific target. When they held Nigeria to a 1-1 draw in Oyo, people thought it was just one of those accidental results in football but after three games, they sit just second in Group C with a game in hand against Rwanda. And, team have started to take them seriously. The likes of their all-time top scorer Jame Thabantso of local side Matlama FC who has netted 12 goals in 7 games for the national team, Sera Motebang, Rethabilie Rasethuntsa, Thabiso Brown and others have shown that you underrate the Crocodiles at your own peril.
