A brave team from Lesotho managed to thwart star-studded Ivory when they put them into a scoreless stalemate in Thursday’s TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2023 qualifiers.
The Elephants tried every trick in the book to hit him, but the defensive backs were still determined to score at Johannesburg’s Dobsonville Stadium.
Lesotho head coach Veselin Jelevic has also made two changes to the squad, which suffered a 2-0 defeat at Moroni in the group opener a few days ago in Moroni.
Motebang Sera and Lesia Thetsane have replaced Tsoarelo Bereng and Lehlohonolo Lenka on Likuena’s starting roster, who are vying for the only second Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers win since November 2018.
Jean-Louis Gasset has replaced the Ivory Coast side, which beat Zambia 3-1 in Yamoussoukro last week, with five changes since the start, with Wilfried Zaha and Jean Evrard Kouassi taking their places.
The other three players are Hassane Kamara, Wilfried Konan and Odilon Kossounou, who replaced Ghislain Konant, Willy Bolyt and Simon Deli.
Ivory Coast Wilfried Zaha challenged by Lesotho Mkwanazi of Lesotho during the 2023 Lesotho-Cote d’Ivoire Africa Cup qualifier at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on June 9, 202.
The Elephants claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the stats agreed with them – possession being 87%.
Lesotho keeper Sekhoane Moerane denied Ivory Coast a number of defenses and ensured his side didn’t give up before half-time, including Max Gradel’s free kick and Serge Aurier’s header .
The Elephants continued their full dominance in the second half but could only get one shot after teenager Karim Konaté’s kick was quietly picked up by Moerane in the fading light of the game.
Ivory Coast top the standings with four points in Group H, while Lesotho are just one point behind. Zambia and Comoros have one point after two games.
The third and fourth matchdays will take place in September, when Ivory Coast play against Comoros and Zambia against Lesotho with a double header.