When Comoros plays Lesotho at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday afternoon, they will be hoping to maintain their slim chances of qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Starting time is 4 PM CAT (SA, GMT+2)
With only three points from their first four games, including a 2-0 victory over the Crocodiles on matchday 1, the Coelacanths sit third in Group H of the qualification standings.
Only one side will advance from the group, and the overwhelming favorites to do so are Zambia. Ivory Coast automatically qualified for the continental championship because they are the hosts.
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After making it to the round of 16 as newbies in the 2021 edition, Younes Zerdouk’s team trails the Copper Bullets by six points and needs outcomes to go their way this weekend to stand a chance of qualifying for Afcon for only the second time in their history.
The Elephants’ victories over the island nation in the qualifiers in March, which extended their losing record to four games after friendly losses to Tunisia and Burkina Faso in September, did not help the island nation’s situation.
Lesotho has only one point from their first four games, a surprising 0-0 draw with Ivory Coast on matchday two, and is already out of the running for Afcon 2023.
The last time Veselin Jelusic’s team won was in July 2022 when they defeated Mauritius 2-1 in the Cosafa Cup. However, they haven’t won in 11 months after suffering back-to-back losses against Zambia in March.
Jelusic is keen to put on a strong performance at Orlando Pirates’ stadium in an effort to end a five-game losing streak, but he acknowledges that Comoros will once again be a formidable opponent.
“We are preparing for the game against Comoros with the intention of playing a good game and getting a good result,” the Serbian tactician said.
“We know that the game will be very tough because Comoros still have a chance to qualify for the next Afcon, depending on the result of the game between Zambia and Ivory Coast.
“In addition, all their players come from European clubs with a high level of quality and competitive experience. But we will fight to the end for the prestige of Lesotho football.”