2027 AFCON: Mafoso says Seychelles were aggressive against Lesotho

Lesotho national team coach Bob Mafoso has explained how Seychelles suffocated his team into a goalless draw in Thursday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round qualifying match.

The islanders, faced with a lack of a certified home venue back home, hosted Likuena at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa in the preliminary round first leg match.

AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Update

Lesotho were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Seychelles in the first leg of their preliminary round clash in Bloemfontein.

Likuena dominated but couldn’t find the breakthrough, while Seychelles put up a solid defensive display to earn a valuable… pic.twitter.com/jYSm0F6AcA

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Seychelles, playing to their strength, came up with a suffocating game-plan that left Lesotho with the ball but with nothing much to do with it.

How Lesotho tried to manage Seychelles aggression

In a post-match interview with the Lesotho Football Association, Mafoso credited the result to the hosts’ defensive solidity.

“It was a 90 minutes I would say where we controlled most phases, he said. “In the first 20 minutes we had the ball, we had the spaces to play into and they were a bit aggressive with transitions.”

Having struggled with Seychelles game-plan, the Lesotho coach noted improvements from his charges.

Mafoso said: “We managed to control their transitions and aggressions. Then from there, we controlled the game until the end of the first half. It was played in their defensive third but it was too compact. We were not patient enough. We rushed some of the decisions.

“We had a chance and if we had scored, they could have at least not have played in their box. It was a game where the home team defended very well with their numbers. I feel that one or two decisions could have helped us to win especially against a team playing in such a low block and you know you won’t have many opportunities because of the discipline of the home team.”

What next now between Lesotho and Seychelles?

Now it is the turn of Lesotho to host Seychelles on March 31 at the same venue in the reverse fixture.

The overall winner between Lesotho and Seychelles will secure a spot in the group phase of the AFCON finals which Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya will co-host in 2027.

A previous meeting with Seychelles in the preliminary round of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, saw Likuena advance to the next stage via a 3-1 aggregate score.