Seabata Mahao
Lesotho’s under-17 women’s football team will square off against Zambia today in the Council of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) Under-17 Women’s Championship.
The match is scheduled for 11:00 hours at the University of Johannesburg Stadium, in neighbouring South Africa.
On their unprecedented run to the final, Lishoeshoe thrashed eSwatini 6-0 in the group matches, and also defeated Comoros 10-0, recording the highest win so far. However, they lost 2-0 to Mozambique in the last group stage match.
They were, however, able to advance to the semi-final stage as the best runners-up after finishing second in their group. In the semi-final Lishoeshoe took matters into their own hands by edging Mozambique 1-0 to secure an unlikely spot in the finals.
Their one-goal victory over Mozambique came from Nteboheleng Sooane who scored from the penalty spot in a match that was played at the University of Johannesburg Stadium on December 11.
Lishoeshoe is competing in the tournament for the first time since its establishment in 2019, and their coach Tjamela Tjamela acknowledged that they have developed a strong team that performs well according to their expectations.
“We wanted to have the best debut in this tournament, and so far we have succeeded. We have made a good team from development,” Tjamela stated.
Meanwhile, their final opponents, Zambia, on the other hand were the first team to advance to the finals after defeating Madagascar 3-0 in the earlier match of the same day.
