Junior Starlets gear up for World Cup qualifier encounter against Uganda

Kenya's Junior Starlets celebrate scoring a goal against Mexico in a FIFA U17 Women's World Cup Group C match at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic [Harambee Starlets, Twitter].

Junior Starlets have set their sights on a crucial away win over Uganda’s Teen Cranes as they aim to secure their return to the global stage.

The Kenyans will battle it out with their neighbours in the first leg of the second-round of the 2026 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers this Friday at the FUFA Stadium, Kadiba.

An away win will cushion Starlets ahead of the return match set for May 30 at the Nyayo Stadium. The aggregate winner will book a third-round date with South Africa or Tanzania.

Starlets head coach Mildred Cheche made their intentions crystal clear, saying that they were going for maximum points.

“Of course, the team is psyched up to get the maximum points away and also at home. It’s not going to be an easy match, but we are up for it,” Cheche said.

She revealed that their game plan will be different from last year’s when they played the Teen Cranes in the 2025 World Cup qualifiers.

“We cannot approach it the same way we approached last year, and so we have made a few changes, but we are still maintaining most of the qualities we had, and hopefully that works for us,” said Cheche.

Cheche noted that she has also made changes to the squad, and Starlets will be without key players defender Rose Nangila and midfielder Lindey Weey Atieno, who are injured.

Nangila, a student of Uganda’s Amus College, sustained a serious injury while playing against rivals Bukedea Comprehensive during the Uganda Secondary School games.

Midfielder Mwanakombo Bakari exuded confidence, saying that they are equal to the task.

“The preparations have been great. We know they have prepared well, but we are also ready. The squad we played last time was different, and we got positive results, so we're ready to tackle their new team,” Bakari said.

The two sides go into the clash on the back of impressive first-round results. Buoyed by their 7-1 win against Namibia, Starlets are gearing up for battle against Uganda, who had an equally successful first round campaign with a 6-1 demolition of Zimbabwe. While history favours the Kenyans following last year’s impressive 5-0 win, they will be way of the Ugandans, who will be on a revenge mission.