THE head coach of Lesotho Leslie Notsi has declared that there was not a great deal difference in quality between the Super Eagles of Nigeria’s Europe-based stars and his players who are mostly based in Africa.
Notsi’s side, ranked 153rd in the world by FIFA, shocked the Super Eagles in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign opener in Uyo last night by securing a 1-1 draw.
Indeed it was the unfancied Crocodiles, ranked 113 spots below the Super Eagles, who drew first blood through Motlomelo Mkwanazi in the 56th minute before Semi Ajayi rescued a point for the misfiring team of Jose Peseiro.
“There wasn’t much difference (between Europe-based and home-based players),” Notsi said during his post-match press conference.
“Yes, of course there were situations where you could see quickness of thinking and speed, but at the same time we did not give them respect. We felt they are the same human beings as us.”
Notsi insisted that his players were not intimidated by the Nigerian stars as he and his technical crew knew there were weaknesses in the Super Eagles side they could exploit.
“We said ‘let’s go there and enjoy ourselves’. Enjoyment not in terms of just going there to waste time, but to have self-belief and for the players to express themselves in the areas that they’re good at,” he explained.
“We studied the Nigerian team and we knew areas we could capitalise on, where we thought we had chances of coming up with something for ourselves.
“There is a lesson we’ve learnt from this match and we have to cherish what we got then improve more going forward.”
With the draw, Nigeria and Lesotho are level on one point each in African qualifying Group C with Rwanda and Zimbabwe, who played a 0-0 draw on Wednesday.
South Africa wil host Benin Republic in Durban on Saturday to round off the group’s first matchday.
The Super Eagles face Zimbabwe in Butare, Rwanda on Sunday in their second fixture, while Lesotho welcome Benin Republic to Durban, South Africa on Tuesday.
Only the group winners will qualify for the 2026 World Cup from Africa’s nine groups, with the best runners-up going into a play-off tournament with other confederations.
[NaijaTimes]