The Lesotho national football team formed in 1932. The team joined both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football in 1964. Lesotho has never qualified for a world cup or Africa Cup of Nations.
A landlocked country in the south of Africa, Lesotho is one of the poorest nations in the world. The country also suffers from one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. As a result of these facotrs, life expectancy in Lesotho is incredibly short by Western standards, about 42 years. Recent years have seen intervention from philanthropists and signs of a decline in the HIV epidemic.
Lesotho did not play a competitive international until 1970 when the team faced Malawi. That game ended in a 2-1 win for Lesotho away from home. During the 1970s, the team began to enter world cup qualifying. Since then, the team has withdrawn or not entered five editions of the competition.
Lesotho’s record winning margin was created in 2006 when the team beat Swaziland 5-0. The team’s record defeat of 7-0 has occurred twice, against both Zaire and Ghana.
Ranked 139th by FIFA, Lesotho may stabilise if they perform well in the next few years.
World cup 2018
Fixtures to be announced.
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