- The Rising Starlets thrash Ethiopia 5-1 on aggregate to book spot in Third Round of qualifiers.
- The team will now face Tanzania for a place in the Fourth Round.
- The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be held in Poland.
The Kenya U20 women’s national football side, Rising Starlets, safely booked their spot in the Third Round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers after thrashing Ethiopia 4-0 in the second leg played at the Ulinzi Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon and 5-1 on aggregate.
With a 1-1 result from the first leg played in Ethiopia, a brace from Elizabeth Mideva and strikes from Valerie Nekesa and captain Fasila Adhiambo got the job done for the Jackline Juma-coached side.
The result booked them a spot in the Third Round where they will face neighbours Tanzania for a place in the Fourth Round, marking the final qualification round for eight teams.
Rising Starlets thrash Ethiopia
Nekesa opened the scoring as early as the 4th minute, before Mideva doubled the lead twelve minutes later.
Fasila then extended Kenya’s lead with a wonder strike from near the halfway line in the 28th minute before Mideva returned in the second half to complete her brace in the 67th minute.
In the first leg, played a week earlier on September 21, 2025, at the Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa, it was also Mideva who found the net to secure a vital 1-1 away draw and she now stands as Kenya’s top scorer in the qualifiers with three goals to her name.
Starlets will host the first leg against Tanzania before traveling away for the return fixture, with both matches scheduled for February 2026.
The Rising Starlets will be hoping to progress to the Fourth Round which marks the final qualification round as they continue their pursuit of a historic ticket to the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
About FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup
The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be the 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, the biennial international women’s youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA.
It will be hosted by Poland and will be the second time that the country has hosted a FIFA tournament having hosted the men’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019. It will also be the first time that Poland has hosted a FIFA women’s tournament.
