IPNEWS-Monrovia: Hopes and expectations were high up following the Lone Star of Liberia pulsating 2-2 draw with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana on March 24, 2023 in Johannesburg at the Orlando Stadium. A 0-2 lead advantage for South Africa was quickly leveled in the second half with goals from Tonia Tisdell and Mohammed Sangare to Liberia to earn her first points in Group K consisting of Morocco, South Africa and Liberia.

Initially, Zimbabwe was part of the group but had to be banned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in May of 2022 following its Football Association’s suspension by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) in February of 2022 due to government interference in football matters in that country.

And so on March 9, 2022, Morocco and South Africa kicked the ball rolling in Group K, with Liberia resting since there were only three teams in their group.  At the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco beat South Africa, 2-1 with goals coming from Youssef  En-Nesyri  in the 51^st minute and Ayoub El Kaabi  in the 88^th minute’, despite Lyle Foster giving South Africa an early lead in the 8^th minute but went on to be defeated.

In the next round of the game that took place on June 13, 2022, Liberia had to play her home games away since CAF and FIFA had banned the SKD Sports Complex in Paynesville due to lacking certain requirements to stage international games. Morocco volunteered for Liberia to use their country as their home ground, and so on June 13, 2022, Liberia hosted Morocco in Casablanca in Morocco at the Stade Mohammed V, where the West Africa nation lost 0-2 to Morocco with goals coming from Fayçal Fajr in the 56^th minute and Youssef En-Nesyri in the 57^th minute.

With Morocco winning its first two games in Group K and accumulating six points, and with Liberia and South Africa at zero points, on March 24, 2023 both Liberia and South Africa faced each other in Group K in attempt to earn their first points in the group. At the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa and Liberia played to 2-2 draw with goals coming from Lyle Foster of South Africa scoring twice in the first half, while Tonia Tisdell scored in the 68^th minute and Mohammed Sangare scored in the 92^nd minute for Liberia to force a needed draw after going down 0-2 in the first half.

Four days later, today Tuesday, March 28, 2023 Liberia took on South Africa at home at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville. A win for the home team, would have taken their points to four (4) behind Morocco with six (6), while South Africa would have remained at one (1) point after the two teams (Liberia & South Africa) shall all played three games apiece and Morocco remaining at two games.

Tuesday’s game at the SKD Sports Complex should have been a must-win affair for the home side, if the West Africa nation wanted to move closer to securing their slot for the 2023 Nations Cup slated for Cote d’Ivoire. If Liberia had defeated South Africa on Tuesday, with any score, eg. 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, etc, and South Africa goes on to defeat Morocco in Johannesburg in June of this year, both Liberia and South would have been tied at four (4) points each in Group K and Morocco remaining at six (6) points having won their previous two games against Liberia and South Africa respectively.

At this stage, what CAF calls “tiebreakers” would have been used to determine who joins Morocco for the finals in the 2023 African Nations Cup in Cote d’Ivoire. If Liberia had defeated South Africa for an example, 1-0, Liberia would have had an advantage in what is called head-to-head criteria, meaning Liberia would have obtained a better head-to-head record against South Africa with a 2-2 draw in Johannesburg and a victory in Monrovia would have put her in a better position.

But on the contrary, Liberia suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the visiting Bafana Bafana, thus ending the country’s dream of going to Cote d’Ivoire, as South Africa now with four points moving to second in the group behind Morocco with six points, and still have a home game against Morocco in Johannesburg, while Liberia will have an away academical fixture against Morocco in either Rabat or Casablanca.

The defeat at home at the hands of the South Africans have ended Liberia’s dream of going to Cote d’Ivoire at the African Nations Cup on a sad note. Liberians from all walks of life were optimistic that their beloved Lone Star and pride of the nation would have emerged victorious to move closer to the 2023 Nations Cup games in Cote d’Ivoire. But that hope is all but dashed as Liberia will have to wait again for the next rounds of qualifiers in two years time to stake a claim to any future Nations Cup finals.

Meanwhile, many disheartened Liberians who spoke to IPNEWS following the defeat to South Africa Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex have called on the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia Football Association (LFA) to get back on the drawing boards and redesign programs for the long term growth of the senior national team and to put Liberia back among its peers in African football as it was during the qualifying rounds of the 2002 Nations Cup and World Cup held in Mali and South Korea/Japan respectively.