Junior Starlets on the verge of World Cup history in return home clash against Burundi
16th June 2024
The U17 women's team are on the verge of becoming the first Kenyan side to qualify for a World Cup.
- Kenya have a 3-0 advantage from the first leg.
- In that match held in Ethiopia, Lorna Faith, Marion Serenge and Susan Akoth scored the all-important goals.
- The U17 FIFA World Cup takes place in the Dominican Republic from 16 October to 3 November.
The Junior Starlets are on the brink of making history on
Sunday when they host Burundi in the second leg of their 2024 FIFA U17 World
Cup qualifier set to be staged at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata.
The junior women’s national team secured a crucial 3-0 advantage
from the first leg of that last round of World Cup qualifier and can even afford
to lose so long as it does not match the scoreline from the first leg.
In that match held in Ethiopia, Lorna Faith, Marion Serenge
and Susan Akoth scored the goals that put the team on the brink of becoming the
first Kenyan side to qualify for a World Cup tournament.
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The Starlets began their qualification journey with a bye in
the second round after DR Congo pulled out of the qualifiers.
They then beat Ethiopia with a 3-0 aggregate in the third
round to set up a fourth-round date with Burundi where they are now just 90
minutes away from securing the ticket to the global championship.
Speaking ahead of the game, head coach Mildred Cheche
rallied every Kenyan fan to show up in
their numbers to cheer on the team over the line.
“Playing at home, I would urge every fan in Nairobi and
outside Nairobi to please come and support the Starlets because we are just 90
minutes away from making history,” she stated.
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She also called on her team to improve on their cutting edge in the final third as they look to get the job done.
“We created a lot of chances offensively, and we had even
more that we could have scored. But going into the second leg, we have a lot to
improve in terms of offensive action,” she added.
Elsewhere, Morocco also navigated their way through in
emphatic fashion, following up a 4-0 first leg win over Algeria with the same
scoreline in the return to set up a meeting with Zambia.
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It promises to be a mouth-watering tie, with the young
Zambians aiming to emulate the success of the senior national side after
beating Uganda 2-1 on aggregate.
Reigning U-17 world champions Nigeria predictably proved too
strong for Burkina Faso, winning 13-1 over the two legs. Their incentive is a
duel with Liberia, who overcame Senegal on away goals rule after winning 2-0 to
overturn the 3-1 deficit from the first leg.
The three victorious nations from this final qualifying phase will book their spots at the U-17 Women's World Cup in the Dominican Republic.