The race for a place in the 2023 World Cup continues in Group C as Lesotho and Benin go head to head at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday.

This will be just the third meeting between the two sides, with the Cheetahs claiming one win and one draw when they squared off in Group L of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers back in November 2020.

Match preview

Lesotho turned in an impressive team display as they held their own to see out a 1-1 draw against a star-studded Nigeria side in the Group C curtain-raiser last Thursday.

Despite being on the back foot for most of the game, Lesotho scored against the run of play at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium as Motlomelo Mkwanazi broke the deadlock in the 56th minute but Semi Ajayi struck 11 minutes later to force a share of the spoils.

While Leslie Notsi will be impressed with his side's result, considering that they sit 113 places below Nigeria in the latest FIFA World Ranking, they have now failed to win their last three matches, picking up one draw and losing twice, including a 1-0 defeat against Zambia in the COSAFA Cup final back in July.

The Crocodiles also suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Ivory Coast in their final game of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they finished rock-bottom in Group H with just one point from six matches.

Benin, on the other hand, were denied a dream start to the World Cup qualifiers as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of South Africa when the sides squared off on Saturday.

Percy Tau and Khuliso Mudau scored first-half goals to set the Bafana Bafana on their way to all three points at the Moses Mabhida Stadium before Steve Mounie halved the deficit in the 70th minute.

This was in keeping with their disappointing AFCON qualifying campaign as the Cheetahs won just one of their six matches in Group B to finish third with just five points from a possible 18.

Benin have now failed to qualify for the last two editions of the AFCON tournament, with their last appearance at the continental showpiece coming in 2019, when they reached the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 against eventual runners-up Senegal.

Gernot Rohr's men have now failed to win their last 13 matches across all competitions, losing eight and claiming five draws since a 4-0 friendly victory over Liberia in March 2022.

Team News

Dandong Tengyue forward Thabiso Brown came off injured at half time against Nigeria last time out and the 28-year-old is a doubt for Tuesday's game.

Should he fail to shake off the injury in time, Royal AM's Sera Motebang will push for a place in the Lesotho XI, forming the two-man attack with veteran forward Tshwarelo Bereng.

With his strike against South Africa, Mounie has now moved into third place in Benin's all-time scoring chart and the Stade Brestois man should spearhead Benin's attack once again.

He should be joined in the final third by Andreas Hountondji and Sochaux's Jodel Dossou while Sessi D'Almeida and Troyes midfielder Junior Olaitan should retain their roles at the heart of the pitch.

At the defensive end, David Kiki, Mohamed Tijani, Cedric Hountondji and Rachid Moumini should form the back four once again, with Dijon's Saturnin Allagbe starting between the sticks.

Lesotho possible starting lineup:
Moerane; Matsoele, Rasethuntsa, Mkwanazi, Mohai; Thaba-Ntso, Lebokollane, Lesaoana, Sefali; Bereng, Motebang

Benin possible starting lineup:
Allagbe; Kiki, Hountondji, Moumini; Olaitan, D'Almeida, Kossi; Hountondji, Dossou, Mounie

We say: Lesotho 1-2 Benin

Lesotho and Benin have endured a rough year and will be looking to close out their schedule for 2023 on a positive note. Rohr's men are unbeaten in their last two games against the Crocodiles and we see them claiming all three points on Tuesday, albeit by the odd goal.

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