Kenya vs South Africa: Preview, Team News, Where to Watch as Junior Starlets Look to Seal World Cup Ticket

Kenya’s Junior Starlets are 90 minutes away from a second straight FIFA U17 World Cup as they take on South Africa in their final qualification match.

Mildred Cheche’s side head into the contest at Nyayo Stadium on Sunday with a huge 2-0 advantage over Bantwana and to make it even sweeter, they played the first leg away. The 2-0 win at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria last week means South Africa must win 3-0 in Nairobi to deny them the ticket.

That puts Kenya in a commanding position and given they will be playing in front of home supporters, there is optimism that they will complete the job on Sunday.

Kenya are looking for back-to-back World Cup appearances after their historic run to the 2024 World Cup in the Dominican Republic and can seal their ticket if they avoid defeat with this year’s tournament set to be played in Morocco.

The youngsters started their World Cup journey in April, beating Namibia 7-1 on aggregate in the first qualification round, before a 1-1 draw against Uganda in the second one. Kenya drew 1-1 in Kampala, before a barren draw in Nairobi, going through on the away goals rule.

It set up the meeting with South Africa, starting away where Faith Boke and Brenda Achieng were on target for Cheche charges as they secured the huge advantage.

Now, they can complete the job with a draw or even a 1-0 defeat at home but the tactician has made it clear that she wants victory.

“For a game, we prepare for all situations; loss, draw and win but at this particular moment, we prepare for a win. Having a 2-0 advantage is one step but we do not take for granted that South Africa is still a good team,” Cheche told the media on Saturday.

“We have prepared the team for all circumstances. They have a history of playing well away so we are not underrating them but we expect a better result because if we won away, then we should do better at home.”

Cheche’s counterpart Ntombifuthi Khumalo accepts her team faces a tall order but feels they will have a chance if they cut out the mistakes of last week.

“We created so many chances but failed to convert them. We are working on that and also, how we conceded the goals. Our girls need to be compact and more disciplined in defending,” she said, pinning her hopes on the experience some of her players gained in featuring at recent U20 tournaments.

Cheche confirmed that Grace Mumo will still not play after missing the first leg due to a chest problem with no further absences expected from the squad that travelled to Pretoria.

Kenya have in their ranks star forward Brenda Achieng, who has scored four goals in the qualifiers, having netted a hat-trick against Namibia and the second goal in Pretoria.

They also have Faith Boke and Emily Adhiambo who have two goals each since the tough qualification journey started.

Kenya, who have conceded just two goals in five qualification matches while scoring 10, can also count on their strong defence and potent attack to get them through.

The match will kick off at 3pm Kenyan time and will be live on the Football Kenya Federation Facebook page.

Okoyo; Namisi, Khatenje, Awuor Brenda, Awuor Beverline; Bakari, Akuku, Weey, Boke; Maloba, Achieng

Junior Starlets hardly concede at home and with their strong attack that has failed to score just once in five matches, they should be too much for South Africa. Bantwana are likely to play an open game which should leave spaces for Midldred Cheche’s team to exploit.