Mid-june this year, Kenya’s Junior Starlets wrote a piece of history in the country’s football after they defeated Burundi 5-0 on aggregate to qualify for the 2024 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup at Ulinzi Complex on a Sunday.
The Kenyan girls went into the return leg fixture having won the first leg played at Abebe Bikila Stadium in Ethiopia 3-0 and they knew a draw was enough to seal their place in the global tournament scheduled for the Dominican Republic from October 16th to November 3rd.
In the return leg, the Junior Starlets continued from where they left off as they scored two first-half goals courtesy of Marion Serenge and Valerie Nekesa to win the home tie 2-0. By winning this tie, junior Starlets joined Zambia and Nigeria as the three African teams in this soccer extravaganza, fast forward The team fell to a 2-0 loss to England U-17 on their World Cup debut and opening fixture of group C.
Starlets made their world cup debut on Friday early morning, being the only Kenya side to participate at a word cup finals.
The youngsters huffed and puffed with Valerie Nekesa and Marion Serenge leading the charge but could not break England’s backline.
England sank Kenyan hearts with goals from Lola Brown and Lauryn Thompson.
Cheche during the post-match conference via FIFA+ revealed that she was pleased with her team’s performance.
“The team did very well, considering it is their first time. Hopefully for the next two games we give our best and we will see what happens,” expressed Cheche.
“They had good defensive organization and the power to run behind the opponents. I think they did very well as we had planned,” she added.
Starlets’ performance couldn’t be faulted as they put on a brave fighting face against a formidable opponent in their first outing at a world cup finals.
The tactician however hopes the experience gained at the global stage inspires the youngsters to qualify for future global tournaments.
“This means we have a big platform for us to explore and a big platform to come again next year. So, we are going to utilize the platform to showcase what we are made of,” she expressed.
Starlets next take on Mexico U-17 in their second group C fixture on Monday, October 21 at the Cibao Stadium.
North Korea currently tops the group with 3 points having won 3-0 against the Mexicans and are only ahead of England on goal difference while Kenya places third.
Written By: John Vincent.
