Junior Starlets fired up for World Cup Qualifiers meeting with Uganda

Kenya U17 girls’ national football team - Junior Starlets - on Tuesday intensified their preparations for their upcoming FIFA U17 World Cup Qualifiers match against Uganda set for next month.

Up to 51 players were named in the team’s provisional squad last week, as the journey back to a place they set foot upon begins.

Kenya, by virtue of qualifying for last year’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic, were handed a first-round bye in this year’s qualifiers and will have to get past their neighbours, for a route into the competition finals in Morocco later this year.

While some key players from the history-making team have since exited, a crucial core remains, led by Joy Angela Valencia, who believes the bar can’t go any lower.

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“We set the bar so high last year and must make sure that remains the standard,” the Butere Girls’ forward said after the team’s pair of friendly matches in Dandora. “We all want to get back to the World Cup, and that means not exiting at the qualifying stage.”

Valencia, who joins Lindey Weey, Halima Imbachi, Brenda Awuor, Joan Ogola and Quinter Adhiambo as players making a return to the squad, have in the meantime had quite some impact on the newbies.

One of them is fullback Rose Nangila, who now wishes to have been in the Caribbean last year.

She said: “Interacting with those who were there, and all their stories from the World Cup, has me wishing to make it there.

“The morale in the camp is high, and we all have the belief that we will beat Uganda both home and away.”

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Should Kenya beat Uganda, they will advance to the third and final round of qualifiers, where a meeting with the winner of Cameroon and Ethiopia awaits.

The first leg of the Uganda tie first is scheduled for 7-9 March, with the return leg set for 14-16 March.