Quote of the week

“To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are.” – Muhammad Ali

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Lesotho drops to 115th, makes three additions to squad

Lesotho dropped 10 places to 115th in the latest Fifa World Rankings released last Thursday. The drop comes after Lesotho had reached its highest ever rating of 105 in last month’s rankings.

Likuena had the opportunity to break into the world’s top 100 for the first time ever but suffered the disappointment of a 2-0 defeat to Burkina Faso and a late equaliser at home to Gabon in 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers played this month.

The results mean Lesotho lies third in a tough Group C after two games.

I wiiill, muust pass... You caan't hold me back!
Mission Likuena to Morocco
Likuena now face a critical back-to-back against Angola in October and national coach Seephephe ‘Mochini’ Matete has added three players to his squad.

Bantu goalkeepers Kholuoe Phasumane and Liteboho Mokhesi have been drafted in as cover for first-choice stopper Mohau Kuenane who is suspended for the first of the double-header against Angola.

Promising Kick4Life striker Thabiso Brown has also been called up to augment the attack. The 19 year-old was prolific for the national Under-20 side during its 2015 African Youth Championship qualifiers earlier in the year and he will compete with Thapelo Tale, Tšepo Lekhooana and Tšepo Seturumane for a starting berth.

Announcing his squad, Matete remained confident of Lesotho’s chances of making it to the continental showpiece to be held in Morocco in January.  The two top from each of the seven groups qualify for the finals, along with the best third place-team.
           
“What I can tell you is that we have a very strong group of players and we have the same dream of playing in the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco next year,” said Matete.

Likuena’s results in September
06/09/2014 Burkina Faso 2-0 Lesotho (Ouagadougou)
10/09/2014 Lesotho 1-1 Gabon (Maseru)

Upcoming fixtures
10/10/2014 Lesotho v Angola (Maseru)
15/10/2014 Angola v Lesotho (Luanda)
14/11/2014 Lesotho v Burkina Faso (Maseru)
19/11/2014 Gabon v Lesotho (Venue to be confirmed)

Likuena squad v Angola
Goalkeepers: Mohau Kuenane, Kananelo Makhooane, Kholuoe Phasumane, Liteboho Mokhesi
Defenders: Moitheri Ntobo (captain), Thabo Masualle, Jerry Kamele, Basia Makepe, Nkau Lerotholi, Tšoanelo Koetle, Sepiriti Malefane, Thapelo Mokhehle
Midfielders: Bushy Moletsane, Motlalepula Mofolo, Ralekoti Mokhahlane, Makara Ntaitsane, Jane Tšotleho, Mabuti Potloane, Phafa Tšosane, Lekhanya Lekhanya
Strikers: Thapelo Tale, Tšepo Lekhooana, Tšepo Seturumane, Thabiso Brown

2015 Afcon qualifying Group C


P
W
D
L
F
A
D
Pts
1
Burkina Faso
2
2
0
0
5
0
+5
6
2
Gabon
2
1
1
0
2
1
+1
4
3
Lesotho
2
0
1
1
1
3
-2
1
4
Angola
2
0
0
2
0
4
-4
0

Monday, September 1, 2014

Lesotho reaches highest ever Fifa ranking

Lesotho has reached its highest ever Fifa World Ranking.

Lesotho moved up to 105 in the world for August, its best placing since the rankings were introduced in 1993. Likuena, in fact, were the highest movers in the world having climbed 29 spots.

Results of 23 new international “A” matches were taken into account for the rankings. The points from the new international “A” matches were determined using Fifa’s new confederation weightings which were recalculated following the 2014 World Cup. There have been slight adjustments in the weighting factors of most confederations. These are now: Conmebol 1.00; Uefa 0.99; AFC, Caf, OFC and Concacaf 0.85.

Nkau Lerotholi  in Lesotho's 2015 Afcon qualifying
 win over Kenya
Ten of 23 matches considered were friendlies with the remaining 13 being qualifiers for the 2015 Caf Africa Cup of Nations.

It was little surprise, therefore, that the biggest movers of the month were mainly to be found in Africa, namely Lesotho (105th, up 26), Malawi (106th, up 15), Sierra Leone (50th, up 14), Benin (77th, up 14), Botswana (86th, up 13) and Guinea-Bissau (123rd, up 13).

Meanwhile, world champions Germany continued to lead the way ahead of Argentina and the Netherlands. Elsewhere, World Cup quarterfinalists Costa Rica climbed one place to 15th. It means, like Likuena, the Los Ticos are now in their highest-ever position since the introduction of the world rankings in 1993.

Lesotho’s Ranking History
Date
Ranking
August 2014
105
July 2014
131
June 2014
139
May 2014
141
April 2014
138
March 2014
143
February 2014
139
January 2014
138
2013
138
2012
159
2011
147
2010
170
2009
150
2008
161
2007
154
2006
160
2005
145
2004
144
2003
120
2002
132
2001
126
2000
136
1999
154
1998
140
1997
149
1996
162
1995
149
1994
135
1993
138
Lesotho's average position since the Fifa World Rankings were introduced in 1993 is 146.

Information from fifa.com used