Junior Starlets take positives from World Cup

Junior Starlets players sing the national anthem. [Harambee Starlets, X]

Junior Starlets were poised to take on Mexico in their last 2024 Fifa U17 Women's World Cup match at the Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in the wee hours yesterday morning.

Coach Mildred Cheche had opted to bring in four new changes in her first eleven, including replacing Lorine Ilavonga in the defence and swapping Diana Anyango in the midfield, as both were indisposed and needed the deserved doctor's rest.

Cheche's hope in the final battle was not only to get her first goal of the tournament, but she was eager to beat Mexico to clinch third place in the Group C which was dominated by England and North Korea who booked a berth in quarterfinals.

Away from the clash, Cheche noted her biggest take home from the tournament, including recommendations that should be taken seriously by both the state and the federation.

"Kenya needs heavy investment in women's football, finances and infrastructures are key in this matter," she reiterated.

"We have noted that most of the teams playing here have been together for between two to four years. The players have been groomed together, from as young as 13 years while for us we have gelled for only eight months, of which there were breaks in between," she highlighted.

The coach says there is need for Kenya to engage in more international fixtures and friendly matches for women stating that Junior Starlets got few international exposures ahead of their first ever World Cup as compared to their opponents and other sides who are also taking part in the Dominican Republic showdown.

"To most of the European nations here, international fixtures and friendlies are part of the norm, so they are used to those standards, my girls only started going international when we moved to Spain for the pre-World Cup training. We should normalise those international outings," she said.

Cheche indicated that Junior Starlets need to be involved in local leagues to give them more playing times like their European counterparts. Currently, her squad is composed of Secondary School students while their World Cup opponents are mostly featuring in club football and leagues back home.

Lastly, Cheche is of the opinion that the Junior Starlets outfit should not be disbanded after the World Cup and instead, the country and the federation should utilise the contingent to build future U19, U20, U23 categories and the Harambee Starlets squads.

"This is the only way to ensure we secure and seal our World Cup slots in the future. The way we have already started, we should make qualifying for the World Cup a natural thing. Let's demystify the myth," she underlined.

The tactician says her greatest drawback in the tournament was the inexperience by her players when it comes to international exposure, as some were nervous in their opening encounter against England as they had not played on such a big platform before.

"They didn't know what to expect until we went for the pre-World Cup build ups in Spain, this is where they got opportunity to learn the European way of play, they started to feel the intensity of the tournament that was ahead,  they got the gist of what to expect in the World Cup," she narrated.

"When they got into the first match against England, that's when they got the true picture of the tournament, they realised it was not easy. As a coach, this also gave me the challenge of what to work on and rectify when we get back home, and also plan for future tournaments as I nurture and harness more talents to join the fray."

Cheche also confirmed that four of her charges have been positively identified by scouts currently combing for talents in the Dominican Republic showpiece.

"Talks are ongoing, the players might be headed for bigger clubs or leagues in Europe if all goes well," she hinted.

Since most of her players are still in school, Cheche assures them that they have been given ample time to study for their exams since the team only engages in football for two hours a day.

"They do online studies, while others are helped with their revision assignments by their teachers, hopefully they get good results in their special exams slated for March next year, if I'm not wrong," she said.

To their fans, Cheche encourages the spectators not to lose hope.

"We don't take your dedication for granted, especially the fact that you stay late in the night to watch our games. We really love and appreciate that," said Cheche.

Finally, the coach reiterates that Junior Starlets have already set standards for all national football teams in Kenya and this is quite a monumental achievement.

"Playing in a Fifa World Cup is already an achievement by itself, now we have to maintain those standards as a nation," she concluded.