Liberia will prove to the boogie team and unlikely dark horse in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying group according to former General Secretary of the LFA Borsay Yanqueh.
Liberia were drawn in Group C along with three times African Champions Nigeria, Cape Verde and the Central African Republic in a ceremony held in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday.
Liberia have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but under current Manager Peter Butler, the Lone Stars can upset the apple cart and reach the finals which will be hosted by Qatar according to Yanqueh.
The former FA Scribe, who served in the Liberia FA under the former President Musa Bility, insists there’s been a massive transformation in the team.
“We’ve got a young talented team and a good Coach who is working with local based players and getting the team to play his way.
“There’s a serious football development going on in the country and for a while now the team has been doing well.
“The development in Liberia football is visible even in with our female team and with our young squad, we are confident,” Yanqueh told brila.net.
Liberia beat Sierra Leone 3-2 on aggregate to book their spot in the second round of the qualifiers, but certainly face tougher tests in the second round of qualifying matches.
The Lone Stars are ranked 44th in Africa, the lowest of the teams in Group C, while Nigeria (3) and Cape Verde (16) are ranked in the top 20.
Central African Republic are currently ranked 18 places ahead of Liberia.
Liberia once produced the world footballer of the year back in 1995 – George Weah – , but since then the small West African nation has struggled for prominence even on the continent.
They have only successfully reached two Africa Cup of Nations, but Yanqueh is confident the current team is on the verge of doing something special.
“Our team now is very good and any team that comes here thinking they will ride on us will think twice.
“Nobody should underrate Liberia; any team Nigeria or Cape Verde or any other team.”
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