History written as Junior Starlets march to World Cup

On an afternoon touched by magic, in a stadium shuddering with noise, Kenya's Junior Starlets joined the ranks of the immortals.

With a stunning exhibition of pace, judgment, and implacable courage, the national U17 women's team overcame fear to break the jinx and write history as the first ever Kenyan side to reach a FIFA World Cup at any level.

The brilliant team overcame a hapless Burundi 2-0 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex on Sunday to book a maiden ticket to the 2024 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup that will be staged in October in the Dominican Republic.

Under the guidance of head coach Mildred Cheche, the Junior Starlets are surely the pride of the nation, and their names have a special place in the pantheon after the glorious feat.

Meanwhile, Kenya began the game on a high tempo, with Lorna Faith being the first player to test the Burundians with a beautiful thunderbolt inside the first minute of the game, but the goal did not count after she was ruled offside.

The home side continued with pressing, and their efforts were rewarded when form-four student Marion Serenge capitalize on Burundi’s defensive error to beat goalkeeper Clairia Nshimirimana and net Kenya’s opener in the 16th minute, sending the fans into delirium.

Super striker Valerie Leah Nekesa collected a neat pass from Susan Akoth from outside the box and had a solo run into the visitor’s danger zone. Nekesa had all the time to choose where to place the ball, and it was low, into the left corner, increasing Kenya’s advantage to 2-0 just 20 minutes after kick-off.

Burundi had their fine moments in the first half. Forward Chanceline Akimana was preparing to unleash a missile inside the Kenyan area, but Starlet’s left-back Kimberly Akinyi reached the scene of an impending crime and cleared the danger for a corner. Their efforts to stage a comeback in the second half were quickly thwarted by an impressive Kenya, who still looked dangerous offensively.

The Ulinzi Sports Complex was full to the rafters, with arguably the highest score in a women's game in the country. Some of the dignitaries who attended the historical match include Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba, who has been drumming for the development of the sport from the grassroots under the Talanta Hela initiative since he took over the mantle of leading the ministry slightly over a year ago.

Junior Starlets joins Nigeria and Zambia as the three African representatives at the big stage tournament. Nigeria stunned Liberia 4-1, while Zambia sailed through following a 3-1 victory against Morocco.

Kenya began their journey to the global tournament with a 2-0 win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the second round of the qualifying campaign.

In the third round, the magnificent team humbled CECAFA neighbors Ethiopia 3-0 on aggregate, having played for a goalless draw in Addis Ababa in the first leg.

Having closed on qualification, Junior Starlets was beaming with optimism and had to finish the business against Burundi, which they did in style, beating them 3-0 on the road and capping the celebrations with another resounding 2-0 show on home soil to send the fans into a frenzy.

The Junior Starlets technical bench will pride itself on having managed to keep a clean sheet in all four matches of the journey, scoring eight goals in the process.

WC participants

Other teams that that will take part in the U17 World Cup includes Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic (host country), Ecuador, England, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, and USA.

The tournament will run from October 16 to November 3, with matches being staged in the cities of Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo.

Junior Starlets line up against Burundi:

Starting XI: Velma Auma (GK), Kimberly Akinyi, Susan Akoth, Lorine Ilavonga, Elizabeth Ochaka, Rebecca Odato, Velma Awour, Christine Adhiambo, Lorna Faith, Valerie Nekesa, and Marion Serenge.

Subs: Ephy Awour, Shyril Atieno, Claire Meris, Mitchel Jenevive, Quinter Adhiambo, Linday Atieno, Halima Imbachi, Mitchell Waithera, Joan Ogola, and Diana Onyango

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