Junior Starlets head coach Mildred Cheche is wary of Uganda’s speedy players as the Kenya Junior side prepares to take their East Africa neighbors in the second round qualifier of the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup.
Kenya defeated Namibia 7-1 on aggregate to advance to the second round while Uganda saw off Zimbabwe 6-1 on aggregate.
‘’Uganda they have a good team,they won home and away against Zimbabwe.They have speedy players,so we are training our players to be able to tackle such players .The mentality that we are creating amongst our players is how to adopt to that,the speedy and aggressive players compared to Namibia which was a bit slow’’Cheche pointed out.
Kenya are bidding to return to the global stage for the second time in three year’s after debuting in 2024 during the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Dominican Republic.
‘’For all our players we are creating a world Cup mentality in them, the same mentality that we played at the world cup is the same mentality that we will bring when we play against Uganda’’
Nyakach Girls defender Pauline Namisi who eraned her call up to the team this year rallied her team mates as they prepare for a stern test in Uganda.
‘’Its great to be back in Camp, Uganda are also a good side we are not afraid we will face them. The training we are having is instilling in us belief that we will fight to the end’’, Naimisi said.
The first leg encounter is scheduled 22nd May in Uganda with Kenya hosting the reverse fixture eight days later.
The aggregate winner in the second round will advance to the third and final round of the qualifiers. Four teams will join the already automatically qualified hosts Morocco as Africa’s representatives in the 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will be held in Morocco from 17th October-7th November.
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