The Lesotho national football team, also known as LNFT, represents Lesotho in men's international association football and is governed by the Lesotho Football Association.
History
Following Lesotho's independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, the Lesotho Football Association was created, and later, the Lesotho national football team, which played its first match on 7 August 1970 against Malawi, where Lesotho won 2-1.
Lesotho participated in its first World Cup qualifiers, for the 1974 tournament, drawing 0–0 against Zambia at home before losing 1–6 in the second leg and getting eliminated. Lesotho was also eliminated in the first round of qualifying for the 1974 AFCON, losing 1–5 to Mauritius after a 0–0 draw in the first leg. Lesotho faced Mauritius again in their next attempt to qualify for 1980 AFCON, losing on away goals. In qualifying for the 1982 tournament, Lesotho lost 3–7 on aggregate to Mozambique. Lesotho then faced Guinea in the 1982 World Cup first qualification round, losing 4–2 on aggregate.
Lesotho won their first ever qualification tie during the 1994 AFCON qualifiers, beating Botswana 4–0 on aggregate, with all four goals coming in the second leg in Botswana. With this victory they entered the group stage of qualifying, managing to draw against Kenya (2–2), Zaire (1–1), and Mozambique (1–1) at home, but losing all three away fixtures to finish bottom of the group.
Lesotho withdrew from the 1996 AFCON qualification and was subsequently banned from the next tournament therefore next entered the 2000 AFCON qualifiers, losing in the first round to Mauritius. Lesotho qualified for the 1999 COSAFA Cup after beating Namibia 1–0, but lost to eventual winners Angola 0–1 in the quarter-finals. The following year Lesotho produced their best ever finish at the 2000 COSAFA Cup, only qualifying for the tournament via disciplinary record. They beat Zambia 3–1 on penalties before scoring two late goals against Angola in the semi-finals to win 2–1. In the final they lost 3–0 twice across two legs to Zimbabwe to finish as runners-up.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
2026
Managers
thumb|250px|[[Zaviša Milosavljević, here in the middle of the Pakistan national football team staff, became the manager of Lesotho in 2007]]
:Caretaker manager are listed in italics.
- April Phumo (1979–1995)
- Lefa Ramakau (2000–??)
- Monaheng Monyane (2003–2004)
- Antoine Hey (2004–2006)
- Motheo Mohapi (2006–2007)
- Zaviša Milosavljević (2007–2009)
- Leslie Notši (2009)
- Leslie Notši (2011–2013)
- Adam Siddorn (2013)
- Seephephe Matete (2014–2015)
- Moses Maliehe (2015–2019)
- Mpitsa Marai (2019)
- Thabo Senong (2019–2021)
- Leslie Notši (2021–2022)
- Veselin Jelušić (2022–2023)
- Leslie Notši (2023–present)
Players
Current squad
The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group C matches against South Africa and Rwanda on 21 and 25 March 2025.
Caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2025, after the match against Rwanda.
<!---
--->
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Lesotho squad within the last twelve months.
<sup>INJ</sup> Withdrew due to injury<br/>
<sup>PRE</sup> Preliminary squad / standby<br/>
<sup>RET</sup> Retired from the national team<br/>
<sup>SUS</sup> Serving suspension<br/>
<sup>WD</sup> Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.
Player records
:Players in bold are still active with Lesotho.
Most appearances
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width=30px|Rank
! style="width:150px;"|Player
!width=50px|Caps
!width=50px|Goals
! style="width:100px;"|Career
|-
|1
|align="left"|Jane Thabantso
|99
|15
|2014–present
|-
|2
|align="left"|Sera Motebang
|76
|12
|2016–present
|-
|3
|align="left"|Basia Makepe
|69
|1
|2012–2023
|-
|4
|align="left"|Nkau Lerotholi
|68
|2
|2008–2021
|-
|5
|align="left"|Tšepo Toloane
|65
|0
|2018–present
|-
|6
|align="left"|Hlompho Kalake
|63
|11
|2015–present
|-
|7
|align="left"|Lisema Lebokollane
|56
|0
|2019–present
|-
|8
|align="left"|Sekhoane Moerane
|55
|1
|2019–present
|-
|9
|align="left"|Tšoanelo Koetle
|54
|2
|2011–2021
|-
|10
|align="left"|Bushi Moletsane
|53
|3
|2004–2015
|-
|}
Top goalscorers
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width=30px|Rank
! style="width:150px;"|Player
!width=50px|Goals
!width=50px|Caps
!width=50px|Ratio
! style="width:100px;"|Career
|-
|1
|style="text-align:left;"|Jane Thabantso
|15
|99
|
|2014–present
|-
|2
|align="left"|Sera Motebang
|12
|76
|
|2016–present
|-
|3
|style="text-align:left;"|Hlompho Kalake
|11
|63
|
|2015–present
|-
|4
|align="left"|Refiloe Potse
|9
|23
|
|1998–2009
|-
|5
|style="text-align:left;"|Tsepo Seturumane
|8
|38
|
|2013–2020
|-
|6
|style="text-align:left;"|Thapelo Tale
|7
|45
|
|2008–2019
|-
|rowspan=3|7
|style="text-align:left;"|Teele Ntšonyana
|5
|19
|
|1995–2004
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Majara Masupha
|5
|20
|
|1998–2004
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Motlatsi Shale
|5
|22
|
|1998–2006
|-
|rowspan=7|10
|style="text-align:left;"|Thulo Ranchobe
|4
|23
|
|2003–2013
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Sello Muso
|4
|29
|
|2006–2009
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Neo Mokhachane
|4
|30
|
|2021–present
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Lehlohonolo Seema
|4
|35
|
|1998–2008
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Ralekoti Mokhahlane
|4
|38
|
|2006–2018
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Bokang Mothoana
|4
|39
|
|2005–2017
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Lehlohonolo Fothoane
|4
|47
|
|2017–present
|-
|}
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!colspan=9|FIFA World Cup record
!rowspan="30"|
!colspan=6|Qualification record
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!
!
!*
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
|1930 to 1962
|colspan=8|Part of United Kingdom
|colspan=6|Part of United Kingdom
|-
|1966 and 1970
|colspan=8|Did not enter
|colspan=6|Did not enter
|-
| 1974
|colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2
|0
|1
|1
|1
|6
|-
| 1978
|colspan=8|Did not enter
|colspan=6|Did not enter
|-
| 1982
|colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2
|0
|1
|1
|2
|4
|-
| 1986
|colspan=8 rowspan=2|Withdrew
|colspan=6 rowspan=2|Withdrew
|-
| 1990
|-
|1994 and 1998
|colspan=8|Did not enter
|colspan=6|Did not enter
|-
| 2002
|colspan=8 rowspan=7|Did not qualify
|2
|0
|0
|2
|0
|3
|-
| 2006
|2
|0
|1
|1
|1
|4
|-
| 2010
|6
|0
|0
|6
|2
|16
|-
| 2014
|8
|2
|3
|3
|7
|17
|-
| 2018
|2
|0
|2
|0
|1
|1
|-
| 2022
|2
|0
|2
|0
|1
|1
|-
| 2026
|10
|3
|3
|4
|9
|12
|-
| 2030
|colspan=8 rowspan=2|To be determined
|colspan=6 rowspan=2|To be determined
|-
| 2034
|-
!Total
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!36
!5
!13
!18
!24
!64
|}
Africa Cup of Nations
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!colspan=9|Africa Cup of Nations record
! rowspan="41" |
!colspan=6|Qualification record
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!
!
!*
!
!
!
!
!
!*
!
!
!
|-
| 1957
|colspan=8 rowspan=4|Part of
|colspan=6 rowspan=4|Part of
|-
| 1959
|-
| 1962
|-
| 1963
|-
| 1965
|colspan=8 rowspan=4|Did not enter
|colspan=6 rowspan=4|Did not enter
|-
| 1968
|-
| 1970
|-
| 1972
|-
| 1974
|colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2||0||1||1||1||5
|-
| 1976
|colspan=8|Withdrew
|colspan=6|Withdrew
|-
| 1978
|colspan=8|Did not enter
|colspan=6|Did not enter
|-
| 1980 || rowspan=2 colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2||1||0||1||2||2
|-
| 1982
|2||1||0||1||3||7
|-
| 1984
|colspan=8|Withdrew
|colspan=6|Withdrew
|-
| 1986
|colspan=8|Did not enter
|colspan=6|Did not enter
|-
| 1988
|colspan=8|Withdrew
|colspan=6|Withdrew
|-
| 1990||colspan=8 rowspan=2|Did not enter
|colspan=6 rowspan=2|Did not enter
|-
| 1992
|-
| 1994
|colspan=8|Did not qualify
|8||1||4||3||8||17
|-
| 1996
|colspan=8|Withdrew during qualifying
|6||1||0||5||3||16
|-
| 1998
|colspan=8|Banned
|colspan=6|Banned for withdrawing in 1996
|-
| 2000
|rowspan=6 colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2||0||1||1||2||4
|-
| 2002
|7
|2
|3
|3
|8
|10
|-
| 2004
|4
|1
|0
|3
|1
|10
|-
| 2006
|2
|0
|1
|1
|1
|4
|-
| 2008
|6
|1
|1
|4
|3
|9
|-
| 2010
|6
|0
|0
|6
|2
|16
|-
| 2012
|colspan=8|Did not enter
|colspan=6|Did not enter
|-
| 2013
|rowspan=7 colspan=8|Did not qualify
|2
|0
|1
|1
|0
|1
|-
| 2015
|10
|2
|3
|5
|6
|13
|-
| 2017
|6
|1
|0
|5
|5
|16
|-
| 2019
|6
|1
|3
|2
|3
|7
|-
| 2021
|6
|0
|3
|3
|3
|9
|-
| 2023
|8
|1
|2
|5
|4
|10
|-
| 2025
|6
|1
|1
|4
|2
|13
|-
| 2027
| colspan="8" rowspan="2" |To be determined
| colspan="6" rowspan="2" |To be determined
|-
| 2029
|-
!Total
!
!0/35
!
!
!
!
!
!
!91
!14
!24
!53
!57
!169
|}
COSAFA Cup
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Year
!colspan="8"|COSAFA Cup record
|-
!Round||Result||Pld||W||D||L||GF||GA
|-
| 1997||rowspan=2|Preliminary round||7th||1||0||0||1||0||2
|-
| 1998||10th||1||0||0||1||0||2
|-
| 1999||Quarter-finals||8th||2||1||0||1||1||1
|-style="background:silver;"
| 2000||Runners-up||2nd||5||1||1||3||3||9
|-
| 2001||Quarter-finals||7th||1||0||0||1||1||2
|-
| 2002||rowspan=6|First round||12th||1||0||0||1||0||2
|-
| 2003||9th||1||0||1||0||0||0
|-
| 2004||9th||1||0||1||0||0||0
|-
| 2005||8th||1||0||0||1||1||2
|-
| 2006||7th||2||0||1||1||1||3
|-
| 2007||11th||2||0||0||2||2||5
|-
| 2008||Preliminary round||12th||3||1||1||1||2||2
|-
| 2009||Group stage||10th||2||1||1||0||3||2
|-style="background:LemonChiffon;"
| 2013||Fourth place||4th||6||1||3||2||10||10
|-
| 2015||Group stage||11th||3||1||0||2||2||4
|-
| 2016||Quarter-finals||7th||5||3||1||1||9||4
|-style="background:LemonChiffon;"
| 2017||Fourth place||4th||3||0||2||1||3||4
|-bgcolor=cc9966
| 2018||Third place||3rd||3||2||1||0||2||0
|-style="background:LemonChiffon;"
| 2019||Fourth place||4th||3||0||2||1||3||4
|-
| 2021||Group stage||8th||4||1||0|||3||3||12
|-
| 2022||Group stage||10th||3||2||0||1||4||4
|-style="background:silver;"
| 2023||Runners-up||2nd||5||2||1||2||6||6
|-
!Total
!Runners-up
!22/22
! 58 !! 16 !! 16 !! 26 !! 56 !! 80
|}
Head-to-head record
As of 31 March 2026 after match against Seychelles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!width=220|Opponent<br />
!width=100|Pld<br />
!width=70|W<br />
!width=70|D<br />
!width=70|L<br />
!width=100|GF<br />
!width=100|GA<br />
!width=120|GD<br />
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 1 || 9 || −8
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 11 || 1 || 1 || 9 || 7 || 27 || −20
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 4 || –4
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 31 || 5 || 11 || 15 || 23 || 39 || −16
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 3 || −3
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 2 || +1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 4 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 || –1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 7 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 6 || –3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 7 || 0 || 4 || 3 || 4 || 17 || −13
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 9 || 2 || 4 || 3 || 10 || 11 || –1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 6 || 0 || 2 || 4 || 3 || 12 || −9
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 6 || −5
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 7 || 0 || 1 || 6 || 7 || 23 || −16
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 4 || −2
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || –1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 8 || 1 || 4 || 3 || 6 || 10 || −4
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 1 || +1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 5 || −5
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3 || 4 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 25 || 5 || 6 || 14 || 17 || 47 || −30
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 5 || −5
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 16 || 8 || 3 || 5 || 27 || 23 || +4
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 8 || −8
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 24 || 4 || 7 || 13 || 10 || 33 || −23
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 15 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 14 || 18 || –4
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 0
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 6 || 0 || 1 || 5 || 4 || 13 || −9
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 2 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 4 || −4
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 8 || 4 || 3 || 1 || 10 || 7 || +3
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFFACD"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 17 || 2 || 5 || 10 || 10 || 31 || −21
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 43 || 12 || 14 || 17 || 42 || 51 || −9
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 5 || 2 || 2 || 1 || 4 || 5 || −1
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 2 || −2
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 5 || 0 || 2 || 3 || 0 || 8 || −8
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 18 || 1 || 6 || 11 || 10 || 43 || −33
|-
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
| style="text-align:left;"| || 26 || 4 || 7 || 15 || 26 || 54 || −28
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total || 339 || 66 || 101 || 172 || 266 || 554 || −288
|}
Honours
Regional
- COSAFA Cup
- Runners-up (2): 2000, 2023
- Third place (1): 2018
Kit suppliers
- Uhlsport (2000)
- Umbro (2002, 2006)
- Uhlsport (2007)
- Adidas (2008–2011)
- Basutoland Ink (2012–2019)
- Umbro (2019–)
Notes
References
External links
- Lesotho at CAF
- Lesotho at FIFA