Junior Starlets face Japan with defensive test looming

Junior Starlets face Japan with defensive test looming

Kenya lost 3-0 to China in their opening match before suffering a 6-1 defeat to the US, leaving them needing a big result against Samoa to keep their campaign alive.

Kenya’s Junior Starlets head into Thursday’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Round of 16 clash against Japan with their historic qualification achieved, but a major defensive test still to overcome.

Mildred Cheche’s side became the first Kenyan team to reach the knockout stage of the tournament after beating Samoa 4-0 in their final Group E match on Sunday.

The victory was enough to secure Kenya one of the four places reserved for the best third-placed teams, but the Junior Starlets enter the knockout stage having conceded nine goals in their opening two matches against China and the United States (US).

That defensive record will be one of the key areas Cheche must address when Kenya face Japan at Pitch 3 of the Mohammed VI Football Complex on Thursday at 9:00 pm East African Time.

Kenya lost 3-0 to China in their opening match before suffering a 6-1 defeat to the US, leaving them needing a big result against Samoa to keep their campaign alive.

They responded with their most complete attacking display of the tournament, scoring four times without reply, but Cheche admitted after the match that her team had not been as clinical as she would have liked despite the emphatic scoreline.

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The knockout stage, however, offers little room for the defensive lapses that Kenya were able to survive against Samoa.

Japan will arrive with the experience of regularly competing at the latter stages of youth women's football, making Thursday's encounter a different proposition from Kenya's group finale.

Cheche knows the challenge that awaits her players and has called for another strong preparation period ahead of the match.

Junior Starlets head Coach Mildred Cheche. (Photo: Harambee Starlets/Facebook)

“Going to the Round of 16, we are playing Japan. It is not an easy side to defeat, but we will prepare well, do our best, and then we will see what happens,” Cheche said.

The coach will also be encouraged by the confidence gained from the Samoa victory, particularly from a forward line that finally found its rhythm.

Mwanakombo Bakari scored twice, while Brenda Awuor and Gaudancia Maloba were also on target. Bakari was subsequently named Player of the Match.

The performance gives Kenya an attacking platform going into the knockout stage, but the balance between attack and defence could ultimately determine whether their historic run continues.

Against Japan, Kenya cannot afford to rely solely on their ability to score. Starlets will need to stay compact without the ball, reduce the spaces available to their opponents and make their chances count when they get forward.

For Bakari, the Samoa victory has provided confidence going into the biggest match of Kenya's campaign so far.

“Being named Player of the Match was a great feeling, and it came with the assistance of other players in the team. Against Japan, I will be more determined and hope to score more goals to propel my team to the quarter-final,” she said.

Japan's record makes the task even more demanding. The Little Nadeshiko won the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2014 and finished runners-up in 2010 and 2016. They have also won the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup four times.

For Kenya, however, Thursday's match is not about reputation but about whether the lessons from the group stage can be applied when the margin for error becomes much smaller.

The Junior Starlets have already made history by reaching the knockout stage for the first time. Their next challenge is to show that the defensive problems exposed in the group stage have been addressed well enough to keep that history-making campaign alive.