Kenya’s Junior Starlets face Japan tonight in the Round of 16 of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, with kick-off at 9pm East African Time at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.
The Kenyan girls are already in the record books. A 4-0 win over Samoa on Sunday made them the first Kenyan team to reach the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup, as one of the four best third-placed sides. Mwanakombo Bakari scored twice and was named Player of the Match, with Brenda Awuor and Gaudencia Maloba also on target.
That result followed a tough start, with defeats of 3-0 to China and 6-1 to the United States, which means coach Mildred Cheche’s side head into the knockout round having conceded nine goals.
Japan will be a big step up. The Little Nadeshiko won all three group matches, scoring nine and conceding none, and are former champions, having won the tournament in 2014 and finished runners-up in 2010 and 2016.
Cheche has acknowledged that Japan will be difficult to beat but says her players will prepare well and give their best. Bakari says she wants to add to her tally and help push Kenya into the quarter-finals.
Sources: The Standard; Citizen Digital; TV47; Eastleigh Voice; Uasin Gishu News.
