Substitute Brenda Achieng scored a sensational six-minute hattrick as Kenya’s Junior Starlets edged out Uganda 3-0 on the afternoon and 5-0 on aggregate to progress to the final round of qualification for the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup.
Patience Asiko had broken the deadlock with a fifth minute goal to set Kenya on the sail, having already won the first leg in Kampala 2-0 last weekend.
Ogolla raced through to a ball looped behind the defense before beating her marker for strength and slashing a low shot into the net.
With a mountain to climb and now a four-goal deficit to chase, Uganda didn’t have many shots at goal despite trying to break the Kenyan backline with their smooth passing. Their best efforts at goal were off a pair of captain Agnes Nabukenya’s freekicks, but both flew over the bar.
In the second half, Kenya sought to start with as much pace as they did in the first. But they had to wait until the final six minutes of the game to cement the victory. Three minutes to time, two substitutes combined, JoyAngela Valencia making a run on the right before slashing a low cross that Achieng swept home from the near post.
The forward drove the final nail into Uganda’s coffin in the second minute of added time with some piece of individual brilliance, dribbling past her markers before slotting the ball home.
Kenya will now take on Cameroon in the final qualification round.
What they said:
Sheryl Botes, Uganda head coach
We played against a very tactically organized and experienced Kenyan side. They have played at the World Cup and we could see today with how they played. We tried to change a few things from the first leg like press them up high and try to win the second balls, but we didn’t do it as well as we would have wished. We are trying to change a few things with Ugandan women’s football and definitely some of these things take time.
Mildred Cheche, Kenya head coach
We did really well today and such a big win at home is great for our confidence. We noticed some gaps from the first e and we tried to address them and that informed some of the changes we made to the squad. We executed our tactics really well and now we put this behind and focus on the next assignment against Cameroon which will be a very tough match.
Halima Imbachi, Kenya captain
We are really delighted as a team to win at home. We received so much support and the best gift to give our fans was victory. We played well as a team and contained all the threats that Uganda brought our way. This is a deserved win and it will push us in our dream for another World Cup qualification.
