Patricia Nkotso’s return to the national team could be a gamechanger
Patricia Nkotoso has been chosen for a selection camp for the senior Lesotho national team, which begins on Monday, March 16.
After three years without an appearance, Nkotso feels she can add value to the Lesotho national team following a string of good performances for the University of Witwatersrand women’s side in 2019.
The centre back felt proud when speaking to Wits Vuvuzela about this opportunity. “It is a good opportunity because I can see that I am in the coaches plans. In 2018 they didn’t select me because the coach didn’t have any plans for me. So now I can see they might need me, or my performances have improved because of the Wits team,” she said.
When asked about what this selection means for the team, Nthabeleng Modiko, better known as Coach Dunga, said, “It is amazing because I think it builds confidence in the changing room. She has been our senior player and we knew when we recruited her that she was the captain of the Lesotho team at the time in 2017, so it is good for her to be making her comeback in the national team. It also gives me a pat on the back as her coach because at least we managed to bring her back into contention after she was dropped.”
If selected, the second year Bachelor of Education student feels she can add value to the Lesotho team by helping their defence in certain areas.
Having played for Lesotho before, Nkotso said her possible future teammates are still very young and will need to be more aggressive on the field in order for the team to improve their game.
Dunga felt Nkotso has improved as a player and echoed her sentiments. “She understands the game, she loves the game and when it comes to her positioning, she is a no-nonsense player.”
Nkotso and her coach both hope the defender’s good form will continue and that she will get a chance to play football abroad in the coming years, with Dunga saying that Nkotso’s style of play is ‘something most European teams look for in a player’.
FEATURED IMAGE: Wits Footballer Patricia Nkotso. Photo: Dylan Bettencourt
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