- Head coach Mildred Cheche holds a 2-0 aggregate lead heading into Sunday’s 4:00 PM return leg against South Africa at Nyayo National Stadium.
- Despite the 2-0 cushion, the team is actively preparing for all scenarios including a dreaded penalty shootout to counter a psychological barrier.
- The Junior Starlets boast a nearly fully fit squad, with the sole exception of Grace Mumo, who remains sidelined due to illness as the team targets a historic second-ever World Cup ticket for the nation.
Kenya’s Under-17 Women’s national team head coach, Mildred Cheche, is remaining grounded yet quietly confident as her side prepares to protect a two-goal aggregate lead against South Africa in the return leg of the World Cup Qualifiers on Sunday afternoon at Nyayo Stadium.
The Junior Starlets put one foot into World Cup qualification after a tactical display away from home, securing a 2-0 victory in South Africa courtesy of goals from Faith Boke and Brenda Achieng.
Despite holding a significant advantage heading into the home leg, Cheche emphasized that her technical bench is leaving nothing to chance.
“Having an advantage is one step, but we do not take for granted that South Africa is still a good team,” Cheche said during the open media session on Saturday morning. “We’ve prepared the team for all circumstances.”
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Among the circumstances the team is preparing for is the dreaded post-match penalty shootout.
The threat of spot-kicks looms large as a psychological barrier for Kenyan football,, across different age groups and genders, Kenyan National teams have failed to win any of their last 5 post-match penalty shootouts.
Acknowledging this history, Cheche revealed that the technical bench has done extensive homework to reverse the trend. While they are actively preparing for situations like extra time and penalties, she made it clear that the ultimate goal is an outright win on home soil.
“I think for a game, we prepare for all situations. We prepare for a draw, we prepare for a loss, we ,prepare for a win. But at this particular moment, we are preparing for a win,” she asserted.
The Junior Starlets’ qualification campaign started slowly with draws in opening fixtures against Namibia and regional rivals Uganda. However, Cheche praised her team’s rapid evolution, particularly their newfound fearlessness when playing on hostile ground.
“At the beginning of this journey, it was pretty difficult,” Cheche admitted.
“When going away, we worked very well with the team to understand that we need to secure at least a point or three points. For Uganda, we secured a point, and for South Africa, we secured three points and two goals. That mentality that winning away is possible has worked really well for us.”
With an almost full squad in hand bar Grace Mumo ruled out with illness with 2-0 cushion, and home fans expected to pack the Nyayo National Stadium this Sunday at 4:00 PM, Cheche and her Junior Starlets are primed to make history as they look to lock down a ticket to the global showpiece for the second time in the history of the nation.