NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 23 – Kenya’s Junior Starlets settled for bronze after demolishing South Sudan 7-0 at the CECAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship hosted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Brenda Achieng netted five goals while Elizabeth Opiyo and Faith Boke scored a goal each to complete the rout.
While a third-place finish was far from the ultimate crown the undefeated group-stage stars had envisioned, the manner of their final-day triumph sent a clear reminder of their immense quality.
The team entered the classification match playing with a massive chip on their shoulders after a controversial technical ruling stripped them of a staggering 13 goals.
The tournament organizing committee had earlier nullified their 16-0 massive victory over Sudan following an abandoned match, replacing their heavily cushioned goal margin with a default, standardized 3-0 scoreline.
Stripped of that historic cushion and subsequently falling to rivals Uganda 2-0 in a tough semi-final, Mildred Cheche’s young squad used that lingering frustration as pure fuel.
From the opening whistle, it was complete and total domination, highlighted by a virtuoso individual performance from lethal forward Brenda Achieng.
Refusing to let the administrative erasure of her earlier tournament goals define her campaign, Achieng put on an absolute clinical clinic in the penalty box, single-handedly tearing the opposition defense to shreds to plunder a staggering five goals.
Her unmatched spatial awareness, blistering acceleration, and ice-cold composure in front of goal completely took the game away from their opponents before they could even settle into a defensive rhythm.
Achieng’s five-goal blitz was brilliantly complemented by her frontline partners, who refused to let up on the offensive pressure.
The dangerous Bhoke found the back of the net with a beautiful, composed finish to further widen the gap, while the tireless Elizabeth was justly rewarded for her immense work rate throughout the match, capping off the dominant evening with a clinical strike of her own.
The 7-0 scoreline served as a clear statement of intent, proving that despite the political and tournament setbacks, the tactical foundation of Kenyan youth women’s football remains incredibly robust.
With Kenya safely securing their podium finish and heading back to Nairobi with regional bronze medals in tow, the attention shifts entirely to the highly anticipated grand finale at the KMC Stadium.
In a true heavyweight clash of the region, tournament powerhouses Uganda and hosts Tanzania will lock horns to decide who will be crowned the undisputed 2026 CECAFA U17 champions.
Uganda enters the final with an unblemished, high-scoring tournament record, while the Tanzanians will rely heavily on an electric home crowd and structural defensive discipline to keep the trophy within their borders.
