Kenya Under-17 girls team, Junior Starlets, face the strongest test yet in the 2025 Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers today, when they come up against African giants Cameroon in the first leg of the third round qualifier match at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi from 3pm.
The return leg match will be at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé on Friday. The aggregate winner will play in Under-17 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Morocco from October 16 to November 3.
Junior Starlets, coached by 2024 Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) Coach of the Year, Mildred Cheche, have been in camp for three weeks.
The team eliminated Uganda’s Teen Cranes 5-0 on aggregate in the second round of the qualifiers, winning 2-0 in Kampala on March 8, and triumphing 3-0 in the return leg in Nairobi on March 15.
A week after playing Uganda in Nairobi, Junior Starlets returned to camp to prepare for today’s clash against Cameroon with two friendlies against Morocco’s Under-17 team, winning 2-0 and drawing 1-1 early this month during the Fifa Women’s International break.
Starlets, the 2024 Soya team of the year, have been camping at the Stadion Hotel in Nairobi and training at Kasarani Annex Stadium and at Nyayo National Stadium, where they held their last training yesterday morning.
Speaking to journalists yesterday, coach Cheche said the team is prepared for the match, emphasizing the importance of a good strategic plan, given what is at stake.
“It will be a tough game. Strategy will decide the win through preparation,” Cheche said.
The coach led the team to its first World Cup appearance in the Dominican Republic last October, finishing third in Group “C”.
“I am pleased with the squad’s performance against Uganda and Morocco. The girls may not be physically imposing, but their technical talent gives us an advantage heading into the match," she added.
Against Uganda, seven members of the starting line-up had previous World Cup experience, including goalkeeper Velma Abwire, defenders Lorine Ilavonga, Jenevive Mithel, and Ochaka, midfielder Lindy Weey, and strikers Halima Imbachi and Ogola.
Judith Nandwa (defender), Anita Bakaria (midfielder), Brenda Achieng, and Nasipwondi (strikers) made their national team debuts.
“Expect changes in this match, hopefully it will work in our favour. We also ask fans to come and cheer the girls as they play best when they are in the stadium," noted Cheche, a CAF "A" license holder.
Kenya did not take part in the first round of the qualifiers, having been given a bye, while Zambia and Nigeria played in the last World Cup.
“We made mistakes in friendlies but have addressed them. We believe in ourselves and aim to return to the World Cup. We know our opponents are prepared, and we will execute our game plan," noted team captain Halima Imbachi, a form four student at Butere Girls High School.
"We're fired up and ready to face them. Since they're taller, we'll avoid high balls and focus on low passes. Football is all about brilliance, after all," added defender Lorine Ilavonga, who features for Ulinzi Starlets in the Football Kenya Federation Women Premier (FKF-WPL).
On the other hand, the North Africans arrived in the country on Saturday morning and headed straight to the Swiss Lenana Mount Hotel in Kilimani, Nairobi.
Coached by Joseph Ndoko, they were scheduled to hold their final training session at Nyayo at 3 pm on Saturday.
Heading into the match, the African giants Cameroon are the favourites. The two-time Africa Under-17 champions (2016, 2018) Cameroon have played at the World Cup twice, in 2016 and 2018, but were eliminated at the group stages in both the World Cups held in Jordan and Uruguay, respectively.
To qualify for this round, Cameroon defeated Egypt 6-0 and then routed Ethiopia 6-2 in the first and second rounds, respectively.
While the two teams have never faced each other, Cameroon faced Kenya's U-20 Rising Starlets and senior Harambee Starlets in 2023 during qualifiers for the 2024 Women's World Cup and the postponed 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), respectively.
The Rising Starlets were eliminated 6-2 on aggregate in the third round. However, the Harambee Starlets sweetly avenged beating Cameroon 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, preventing Cameroon from qualifying for Wafcon for the first time in two decades.
In another last round match on Sunday, Côte d'Ivoire plays Guinea at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan. Two matches were scheduled for Saturday, Nigeria vs Algeria and Zambia vs Benin, were scheduled to play on Saturday.
The USA is the second nation to qualify for the tournament for the fifth consecutive time after topping Group "C" in Concacaf qualifiers, winning 3-0 against Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras (7-0), and El Salvador (7-0).
They join hosts Morocco, who qualified automatically. This edition expands the competition to 24 teams from 18, and marks the first time an African nation will host. Africa will be represented by five nations, with the hosts included.
