Junior Starlets thrash Samoa to reach round of 16 at Women's U-17 World Cup
Junior Starlets forward Mwanakombo Bakari celebrates her goal during their FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup Group 'E' match against Samoa at Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé, Morocco on October 25, 2026.
What you need to know:
- The result lifted Kenya to third in Group ‘E’ with three points, finishing four points behind group winners China and USA.
- The Starlets will now face 2014 world champions Japan in the Round of 16 match on Thursday at the same venue.
Kenya's Junior Starlets on Sunday night made history by qualifying for the Round of 16 of the 2026 Fifa U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco.
The Starlets, coached by Mildred Cheche, thrashed Oceania side Samoa 4-0 in their final Group ‘E’ match to qualify as one of the four best third-placed teams in the tournament.
The match was played at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé, Morocco.
Having already lost two matches, the Kenyan girls needed a big win and other results to go their way to stay alive. That they delivered in style.
Junior Starlets forward Tabitha Wambui (left) challenges Samoa defender Reyne Tufuga during their FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup Group 'E' match at Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé, Morocco on October 25, 2026.
Striker Mwanakombo Bakari set the tone with a goal after just four minutes to give Kenya a 1-0 lead, before striker Brenda Awuor doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time in the 44th minute.
The Starlets returned from the break hungrier. Forward Gaudancia Maloba made it 3-0 in the 62nd minute with a powerful finish, and two minutes later Bakari completed her brace to seal a famous 4-0 victory.
The result lifted Kenya to third in Group ‘E’ with three points, finishing four points behind group winners China who beat USA 3-2 in the other group match on Sunday night.
Kenya had begun the tournament on a difficult note, losing 3-0 to China in their opener before falling 6-1 to the USA in their second group match, with Lindey Weey scoring Kenya's first goal of the tournament.
But Sunday's emphatic win improved their goal difference to -4, proving decisive in the race for the best third-placed slots.
A missed penalty by Weey late in the game would have made it 5-0, but the four goals were enough.
It is a historic first for the country. This is only the second time Kenya is playing at the U-17 Women's World Cup.
On their debut at the 2024 edition in the Dominican Republic, the Starlets were knocked out in the group stages.
Junior Starlets forward Joan Ogola battles for the ball against USA defender Moodie Venina (left ) and Amari Manning during the Group 'E' match of the 2026 FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Sale, Morocco on October 22, 2026.
The Kenyan girls finished third in Group ‘C’, with three points, after losing to England (2-0) and North Korea (3-0) and beating Mexico 2-1 in their final match.
That appearance earned the team a piece of history for being the first Kenyan team to qualify for a Fifa World Cup tournament.
However, they missed last year’s tournament in Morocco after a 4-1 aggregate loss to Cameroon in the qualifiers.
For the 2026 edition in Morocco, Fifa expanded the format. The top two teams from each of the six groups qualify automatically (12 teams), joined by the four best third-placed teams to make the Round of 16.
The four best third-placed teams that qualified are Poland from Group ‘B’ with three points and a goal difference of zero after thrashing Puerto Rico 6-2, hosts Morocco from Group ‘A’ with three points and a minus two goal difference.
Venezuela qualified from Group ‘D’ with three points after Mexico beat Australia 1-0 to finish second in Group 'F'. Kenya claimed the final slot from Group ‘E’ with three points and minus four goal difference.
The Starlets will now face a huge test against 2014 world champions Japan in the Round of 16.
Japan topped Group ‘D’ with a perfect record of nine points from three matches, scoring nine goals and conceding none.
The match will be played on Thursday at the same venue from 7pm local time (9pm Kenyan time).
All the Round of 16 matches will be played Wednesday and Thursday.
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