Lonestar Coach Thomas Kojo cherished players despite a 1-0 home defeat to the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in the CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers poised to take place in Canada, the USA, and Mexico.
Hazem Mastouri’s 4th-minute goal moves the Tunisians to 13 points in Group H from five outings and increases their chances of finishing as group winners.
“My impression about the team is, after conceding cheaply early on, the players immediately started putting in their best, but, unfortunately, we did not get the equalizer.”
“Congratulations to Tunisia for the wins. We are going back to begin working on other lapses to see how best we can graduate from it.”
The Lone Star Stand in Coach said, It is not time for shifting blame on particular players or player on the defeat on grounds that they lose as a team.
“Remember, the ball beats the defenders before reaching the goalkeeper; how will the goalkeeper be held responsible for the goal? We lose as a team, and what matters now is to get back to training and work on more finishing aspects. We created more chances, but finishing was our problem.
You all saw the game as sports journalists; we were aggressive, but it does not mean we should injure opponents”.
Coach Thomas Kojo has also vowed to return the team to winning ways when they take on Sao Tome and Principe on Monday, March 24, at the SKD in match day six.
On the other hand, some supporters who attended the match on Wednesday staged a huge jubilation at the climax of the match, citing that the performance of the team was wonderful and deserved to be celebrated despite the defeat.
The supporters who were seen singing, dancing, and beating drums narrated that for too long the national team, Lonestar, has never produced such a wonderful performance on their home soil.
Many of them want caretaker coach Thomas Kojo to be maintained and given a longer contract to help build a winning team that is capable of qualifying the country for World Cups and Nations Cups, adding that, he has proven to be the right man for the job.
Our reporter, who provided coverage of the match, said, the Lonestar coach’s 4-3-3 formation paid off in terms of perfect ball coordination, limiting individual errors, especially from the defense, fast movement of the ball, creating goal-scoring chances, defending set pieces, among others.
He narrated that the only unfortunate situation was the failure of the team to redeem the early minute’s goal after accumulating 72-28 percent ball possession, and 4/5 shots on target.
Meanwhile, Madagascar came from a goal down to secure a 4-1 away win over Central African Republic as Eswatini settled to a 0-0 draw at home to Cameroon.
At the same time, the Liberian Ministry of Youth and Sports has expressed concern about the between Liberia and Tunisia.
The ministry said it has observed, through video review, that the referee denied Lone Star two clear penalties, which significantly impacted not only the match’s outcome but also Lone Star’s chances of qualifying.
The ministry, in its release dated March 20, 2025, believes that such critical errors by the officiating undermined the principles of fairness and integrity in the sport; as such, the issue must be addressed at the highest level.
The release added that given the above, the Ministry is therefore requesting the Liberia Football Association (LFA) to file an official complaint with FIFA, urging them to launch a thorough investigation into the officiating of the match.
The Liberian Ministry of Youth and Sports is requesting a replay of the match to ensure that justice is served and the integrity of the game is upheld.
