By S. Siapha Mulbah
The Liberia Men’s Senior National Team, the Lone Star, has again booked a space in the group stage of the African Cup of Nations main qualifiers, following a 2-0 aggregate score victory over Djibouti in the preliminary qualifiers.
The team’s quest for a win on home soil was postponed yesterday March 26, 2024, in the return leg of the preliminary qualifier where the full-time regularities and stoppages ended goalless at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville.
The Liberian side missed chances did not favor them all through the match and the thirst of the country’s population that showed up at the match venue ended in a disappointing fashion, despite the team’s qualification to the main group stage event.
Many described the team’s performance as dismal, and disclosed that the coach and his technical backroom have a lot of work to be done if there will ever be a chance for a better performance in the qualifiers by the Lone Star.
In a post-match conference, the head coach of the team, Mario Marinica, disclosed that the team performed in the best capacity that contributed to them booking a space in the qualifiers of the Nations Cup.
He said that Liberians should be happy that the team has gotten an opportunity to qualify to the nations cup with the two-goal win over Djibouti from the first leg, and maintaining them to a draw on home soil.
According to coach Mario, the team-building process of the Lone Star is a work in progress and the players that were invited to feature for the Red, White and Blue outfit are responding positively to adapting to the system that they will use to make the country proud in the future.
He maintained that there is explicit confidence in the technical team that heads the Lone Star in working with the local-based players, while other foreign-based players will be reviewed for consideration in the team.
The Liberian national team participated in the last edition of the qualifiers of the nations cup that was hosted by Cote d’Ivoire, but failed to progress to the main event following three loses and a draw from their group at the time.
For over 20 years, the team has not been opportune to participate in the final competition of the biggest African football festival, and the mandate has been given to Coach Mario Marinica to escort the Lone Star back to the glorious days of intercontinental competition.
