Teen Cranes Exit FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers After Kenya Draw

Saturday, May 30

Kenya 0-0 Uganda (Aggregate: 1-1, Kenya advance on away goals)

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Kenya have eliminated Uganda from the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers after a goalless draw in the second-leg encounter played at Nyayo Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The two sides settled for a 0-0 draw in Nairobi, but Kenya progressed to the next qualifying round on the away-goals rule following the 1-1 draw in the first leg played in Uganda.

Uganda created several scoring opportunities during the match but failed to find the breakthrough, allowing the hosts to hold on and secure qualification.

Kenya’s progression was ultimately decided by Emily Adhiambo’s crucial equaliser in the first leg, which cancelled out Shadia Nabirye’s opening goal for Uganda and handed the Junior Starlets the away-goal advantage.

The result sees Kenya advance to the third and final qualifying round, where they will face either Tanzania or South Africa as they vie for a place at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.

For Uganda, it is another disappointing end to a World Cup qualification campaign. Within the space of a month, two national women’s teams have exited the FIFA World Cup qualifiers under head coach Sheryl Botes.

The Uganda U20 Women’s National Team, the Queen Cranes, were eliminated by Ghana, while the Teen Cranes have now fallen to Kenya at the U17 level.

Attention will now turn to the upcoming CECAFA U17 Girls’ Championship, which is scheduled to kick off on June 13 in Tanzania.

Uganda has been drawn in Group B alongside South Sudan, Djibouti, and Zanzibar.

The Teen Cranes are former champions of the competition, having won the title in 2019 under coach Ayub Khalifah.

With only five months remaining on Botes’ current contract, questions are likely to arise regarding her future.

However, any decision on her position will rest with the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) following an assessment of the team’s recent performances and long-term objectives.