South Africa second division striker Sera Motebang snatched a late winner for Lesotho in a 2-1 victory over Seychelles on Sunday in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifier.
Lesotho won 2-1 on aggregate after the first leg last Thursday ended goalless. Both matches were staged in South African city Bloemfontein as neither nation has an international-standard stadium.
Motebang soared to head a Itumeleng Falene free-kick into the net after 82 minutes as Lesotho recovered having fallen behind late in the first half.
Brandon Labrosse put the Indian Ocean side ahead, but the lead was cancelled just five minutes into the second period when another South Africa-based player, Lebohang Lesako, equalised.
Despite conceding, Seychelles remained ahead on away goals until Motebang struck to secure the landlocked southern Africa country a place in the main qualifying competition from September.
Defeat stretched to 63 matches the winless run of Seychelles against African opponents since beating Lesotho 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, South Sudan also qualified despite a shock 1-0 loss at home to Djibouti in an empty Juba stadium. No reason was given for the absence of spectators.
"Following CAF directives, both matches will be played behind closed doors without fans. This is not due to any sanction against South Sudan," said a statement from the hosts.
Having cruised to a 4-0 victory in the first leg, South Sudan were expected to win again, given they enjoyed home advantage in both matches.
But Nigeria-born Samuel Akinbinu tapped a Gabriel Dadzie cross into the net on 77 minutes for the lone goal.
Djibouti are among six countries of the 12 in the preliminary round who cannot play at home. Somalia have security concerns and the other five lack CAF-approved stadiums.
The remaining four second legs are set for Tuesday. Eritrea will defend a 2-0 lead in Eswatini while hosts Mauritius and Somalia are deadlocked after a goalless first encounter.
The six qualifiers and 42 nations given byes will be split into 12 qualifying groups for the 2027 tournament in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Preliminary Round is taking shape.
— CAF Online (@CAF_Online) March 29, 2026
Here are today’s results. 👇 pic.twitter.com/l0YUOMqTn3