The Kenya U17 women’s team the Junior Starlets has been eliminated from the ongoing U17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic, with one game remaining in the group stage.After back-to-back defeats to England and North Korea, the Junior Starlets will conclude their tournament participation on Thursday morning against Mexico before returning home.##NAJAVA_MECA_8424491##Kenya fell 2-0 to England on Friday morning and then suffered a 3-0 loss to North Korea on Sunday night. Following the defeat on Sunday, Kenya’s chances hinged on a Mexico win over England in the other Group C match to stay in contention. However, England’s 4-2 victory over Mexico dashed those hopes, eliminating Mexico from the tournament, as they had previously lost 4-1 to North Korea on Friday.This was Kenya’s first-ever appearance at the World Cup. Despite an unbeaten run in pre-tournament friendlies, the team struggled globally. Captain Elizabeth Ochaka acknowledged that the World Cup presented a higher level of competition, saying, “The game was tough; we played against very good teams. We’ve learned a lot and identified our weaknesses, which we will work on to better prepare next time.”Tanzania rallies from behind to heartbreak Kenya in U20 AFCON qualifier finalOchaka also encouraged fans to continue supporting the team. “I want to urge the fans to keep backing us and not lose hope. This was our first World Cup, and we did our best. When we return home, we will train harder to come back stronger,” she added.As the team prepares for their final match, coach Mildred Cheche will be focused on addressing their slow starts, as they have consistently conceded early in games before growing into them. This is an area she hopes to improve on going forward.When they took to the pitch on Friday, the Starlets entered the history books by becoming the first-ever Kenyan football team to grace a World Cup.FKFPL Wrap: Kaddu’s brace propels Tusker as Leopards are held by ten-man Kariobangi Sharks
