Burundi U17 girls optimistic of turning tables against Kenya and qualify for World Cup later this year

Burundi women’s Under-17 team are all puffed up and looking forward to stamping their dominance over the Junior Starlets in the much-anticipated duel slated for this Sunday at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, Nairobi.

Speaking to journalists after touching down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Tuesday evening, Burundi U-17 (Swallows or Hirondelles) coach Daniella Niyibimenya expressed her confidence in thwarting the Junior Starlets, scoring as many goals as possible to secure a spot in the coveted FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which will be staged in the Dominican Republic from October 16 to November 3, 2024.

Avoidable mistakes

She acknowledged that during the fourth round (their first leg) of the qualifiers played at Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa last Saturday, June 8, the Burundi side made avoidable mistakes, leading to a 3-0 defeat by the Junior Starlets.

The match saw striker Korna Faith and midfielders Marion Serenge and Susan Akoth find the back of the net, worsening the Swallows’ situation.

At the same venue, Junior Starlets ended with a scoreless draw against Ethiopia during their third round, after a walkover as a result of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) withdrawing from the tourney even before kicking the ball.

“We played poorly during our first leg in Ethiopia, but we have rectified our mistakes and are now very confident of overturning the results. This is because all three goals we conceded were due to our own defensive mistakes,” coach Niyibimenya observed.

Revenge is on

She continued, “We also had a few good chances; therefore, the contest is still open, and we are confident we can beat Kenya and qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.”

The all-important second leg, which is also Kenya’s return leg, will not be a walk in the park for the Swallows as they need to beat the Junior Starlets 4-0 to turn the tables and qualify for the World Cup.

Correspondingly, Burundi advanced to the second round, where they battled Botswana, triumphing with a 4-1 aggregate. The win earned them a spot in the third round, where they found Djibouti to be a piece of cake, defeating them with a 24-0 aggregate score.

For the Women’s World Cup, only three top teams from the CAF region will represent Africa as 16 teams from six confederations will battle during the last hurrah.