Kenya Lionesses fight but fall 5-0 to Argentina

Kenya Lioness vs Brazil during their 2026 HSBC SVNS 2 match at Nyayo Stadium on February 14, 2026.[Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Kenya Lionesses lost their third match at the ongoing 2026 Nairobi HSBC SVNS Division Two tournament after going down to Argentina 5-0 at Nyayo Stadium on Sunday morning.

Played on a round robin format, the top four teams at the end of the Nairobi, Montevideo, Uruguay (March 21–22) and São Paulo, Brazil (March 28–29) will qualify for the SVNS World Championship, where they will face Division One’s top eight sides for a place in the 2027 season.

Lionesses began the match poorly after losing the kick off by Grace Adhiambo to an offside call and surrendering possession to the South Americans, who punished Kenya after using the advantage to score an early unconverted try through Marianela Escalante for a 5-0 lead.

Behind in front of their fans, the Lionesses showcased their power and muscle with big defensive plays for the next five minutes as they blocked, tackled, and prevented the Argentines from breaching the Kenyan 22.

Despite winning possession numerous times and playing three minutes after the hooter, poor ball handling and movement saw the Lionesses fail to capitalise on their possession as Argentina held on to lead 5-0 at the break.

In the final half, the Lionesses took care of the Argentine restart kick, and after a series of swift ball movement, Adhiambo released Edith Nariaka, who, despite breaking right through the Argentine defensive line, could not reach the try box after being chased down and losing the ball.

The next five minutes saw Kenya exchange possession with the Argentines, but with neither side failing to hit the breakthrough, and thus the South Americans held on to pick a narrow 5-0 win, their fourth in Nairobi.

On Saturday, Kenya lost to China and South Africa, with their only victory coming against Brazil.