Liberia: Local Players Dominate Local Square for Djibouti Clash - FrontPageAfrica

Source: Front Page Africa
Author: Christopher C. Walker

Monrovia, Liberia - National football team head coach Mario Marinica has put his trust in local players of Liberia ahead of the Lone Star's upcoming double-header with Djibouti in the preliminaries of the 2025 Nations Cup qualifiers.

By: Christopher C Walker 0777898224/0886723075 [email protected]

The new Lone Star coach, who will take charge of the national team for the first time against Djibouti on Wednesday, March 20, in Morocco, released a list of 24 men, primarily consisting of local players. He named only six local players who will join the 18 he has been working with over the past three weeks.

Addressing the media before the team's departure to Morocco, he expressed his belief that after weeks of training with the local players, he is confident they can deliver the desired results. Despite some good preparation from his opponents, he remains optimistic about a favorable outcome.

According to him, after observing over forty foreign players, he opted to select six whom he feels are the best to assist his team in such games.

"We look at players based on performance, focusing on those currently playing, those with clubs, and those who have logged more minutes," Mario Marinica said. "We have been working with the locally based players, and we feel they have what it takes to challenge overseas players, and they have really impressed us."

He noted that after training sessions with the locally based players, they left a positive impression on his backroom staff, and they anticipate seeing a different style of football and improved performance.

He quickly disclosed that some of the challenges he expects include having nine young players who have not played for the national team before and the issue of professional players arriving late for the game.

The Lone Star coach emphasized that he knows his opponent, Djibouti, very well after extensive research on their players, and it will depend on the players to achieve the desired results.

"I know it has been frustrating for the country to endure such a long time without a home win," he said. "We are very organized, know our game plan, and are prepared to secure a home win after such a long time."

"I will ask Liberians to expect an objective team, a team that works hard, fights from the first minute to the last, and I expect our players to play with pride to make Liberians proud," he added. "We need to be able to compete at the highest level and be intelligent in our matches," he told the media.

Mario Marinica stated that he is going into the first leg aiming for a win because securing a win in the first leg is crucial for the team's qualification.

The Lone Star delegation arrived in Casablanca, Morocco, on Friday and boarded a bus to Marrakech, where the first-leg fixture against Djibouti in the preliminary round of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers will be played. The delegation is headed by LFA Executive Committee Member Ivan Brown and comprises home-based players and team officials. Invited foreign-based players will start to arrive on Sunday, March 17.

6. Murphy Oscar Dorley - Slavia Prague / Czech Republic