Lesotho head coach Leslie Notsi believes they have what it takes to cause an upset against Bafana Bafana in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Lesotho are currently fourth in the group with five points in four games, having drawn with Nigeria and Benin, and beating Zimbabwe 2-0.
South Africa are second with seven points, but their Cosafa rivals have shown in recent times they can hold their own amongst the giants of the continent, having taken Morocco to the 93rd minute before losing 1-0 in Agadir, which Hugo Broos noted pre-match.
“On paper, South Africa is considered a bigger team, but in sporting terms, yes one would always respect opponents, but we have played bigger footballing countries and got results,” Notsi said.
“So giving them respect in that regard, is not saying we’re coming here to add numbers or fulfil the day – we know what they possess, we also have our strengths we believe in and we believe this kind of games, we cherish this kind of matches.
“We believe it brings the best out of us, so we’re coming to be very competitive, and hence we’re saying we’re looking forward to this fixture.”
The 60-year-old, who had stints coaching in South Africa with Mthatha Bucks, United FC and Garankuwa United believes they are creating the building-blocks of something special and their style of play suits what they are trying to achieve.
“Yes [our playing style] has worked for us, we are aware that we’re a work in progress as a team, each match has it’s own merits, tomorrow will be different to Nigeria, or the Morocco matches we played,” he added.
“But we’re looking at growing and bigger matches gives us an opportunity to engage ourselves much better or more than the previous matches, so this is another test for us, with the quality we have. We have to go for it and see how we can fare.
“We believe an upset can be there, we just need to engage ourselves in the best way we can.”
The two sides meet at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday afternoon at 18h00.
