The Kenya U20 women’s national team, Rising Starlets, are through to the third round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers after sealing a convincing 5-1 aggregate victory over Ethiopia.
The Rising Starlets beat Ethiopia 4-0 in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers match wrapping up their second-round ties with a commanding win at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi on Sunday, September 28.
Valerie Nekesa opened the scoring as early as the 4th minute, before Elizabeth Mideva doubled the lead in the 16th minute. Captain Fasila Adhiambo struck in the 28th minute to make it three, and Mideva returned in the second half to complete her brace in the 67th minute of the match.
Ethiopia came back in the second half determined to salvage their campaign but despite their late push, Kenya’s backline held firm keeping the scoreline intact.
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. She now stands as Kenya’s top scorer in the qualifiers with three goals to her name.
Rising Starlets Coach Jackline Juma speaking after the match said that she was happy with the results and the way the team played and now their focus shifts to preparations for the crucial clash ahead as they continue their pursuit in qualifying for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
Juma said what gave the team advantage was deciding to keep possession of the ball more, applying counter press on their opponents and the decision to change their formation as a tactical move
“We were aiming for the first ten minutes to score a goal given that in Ethiopia our first goal came in the 36 minute” she said adding that she really wanted to push them to immediately get as many goals as possible after kickoff.
On his part, Ethiopia Coach Chalew Lemecha said that they lost the game due to issues in the way the team played and that the players did not bring the mentality that they were trained for when they entered into the field to play.
“After their opponents scored the first goal in the first few minutes of the game, the players unfortunately went into a panic mode and they had a hard time getting out of that mode despite them changing up their formation of the play” he said.
He praised the players for maintaining their morality throughout the match regardless of the outcome noting that the team has strong players and they will continue with their training and do better next time.
The Rising Starlets victory sets up an East African derby in the third round, with Kenya facing Tanzania. Starlets will host the first leg before traveling away for the return fixture, with both matches scheduled for February 2026.
Finally, the fourth and decisive round of the first leg and second leg will take place in May next year to determine Africa’s representatives for the global showpiece.
The Rising Starlets have their sights on securing a spot in their first World Cup qualification and making their imprint in history as the second team to take Kenya to the World Cup stage.
By Anita Omwenga
