•We wish Harambee Starlets all the best as they put their best foot forward against Botswana.
•If Starlets manage to win in Gaborone on aggregate on Tuesday, they will have punched a direct ticket to the premier continental football showpiece that will be held in Morocco.
Image: FILE
Our national football teams are doing us proud on the international stage.
The exemplary run exhibited by Junior Stars at the Cecafa Under-18 regional football showpiece has left local fans yearning for more action.
We wish Harambee Starlets all the best as they put their best foot forward against Botswana
They finally thrashed Somalia 3-1 to wrap up their group matches in style, effectively cementing their position atop the log to seal a semifinal spot. They will be facing neighbours Tanzania in the crunch penultimate match of the competition.
Despite experiencing a torrid start to their World Cup qualification campaign with a 2-1 loss to Gabon, the men’s senior team, Harambee Stars redeemed themselves emphatically with a resounding 5-0 thrashing of Seychelles in their second match.
Harambee Stars will return to action against Burundi and Gambia in June and their last performance attested to their potential to return good results in their subsequent encounters.
The girls’ U20 team, Rising Starlets, sadly bowed out of the World Cup qualifiers after falling to a superior Cameroonian team in the first round of the competition.
Despite the setback, the girls did a marvelous job and, hopefully, they have gleaned some imperative lessons that will propel them to greater heights in the future.
Our main focus now is on the senior women’s national team, Harambee Starlets who will be flying the nation’s flag in the return leg of the second round of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations against Botswana.
Starlets have already landed in Gaborone for the crucial match. They head to Tuesday’s encounter buoyed by their convincing performance in the first leg where they played out to a one-all draw at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.
The fans did a marvelous job after turning out in large numbers to roar at the Kenyan queens. Some may have considered the outcome a little bit disappointing, having expected a win at home.
However, it must not be lost to us that our girls put up a valiant fight against a well-drilled team that boasts players who feature in the women’s Champions League.
We must also appreciate the fact that Starlets made it to this stage of the competition after a stunning pre-tournament favourite Cameroon. The best we can do now is to unite and rally behind the Starlets in their hour of reckoning. They need our well wishes more than ever before.
If they manage to win in Gaborone on aggregate on Tuesday, they will have punched a direct ticket to the premier continental football showpiece that will be held in Morocco.
The team boasts an effective technical bench with impressive credentials, led by head coach Beldine Odemba who led a successful onslaught against the highly-rated Cameroonian squad.
Objective criticism is much welcome to help the team scale new heights. It would, however, be unfair to bash the team repeatedly because such a scenario is bound to leave the squad psychologically battered.
We wish Harambee Starlets all the best as they put their best foot forward against Botswana in Gaborone on Tuesday. Go, Starlets, go!