Harambee Starlets will jet out of the country today for the Four-Nations Fifa Tournament in Lusaka, Zambia.
With focus on the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco, this is coach Beldine Odemba’s final gear shift in her ambitions to ensure that Kenya doesn’t just attend the continental showpiece but competes at the highest level.
Speaking yesterday during their last training session, the tactician emphasised that the friendly matches are key to their Wafcon preparations.
“We are happy to have another chance, maybe the last chance to build up towards Wafcon. We will meet exciting teams, especially Zambia, because we had requested to play them. We are looking forward because we want to see where we are at the moment and what we can do in the remaining few days as we get ready for Wafcon.” Odemba said.
She revealed that their main objective at the continental showdown is to seal their ticket to the 2027 World Cup.
“Our aim still remains the same, we are going for World Cup qualifiers, and we are hoping for the best,” she added.
Midfielder Fasila Adhiambo noted that they were eyeing an improved performance in Zambia with focus on areas that need improvement after the Fifa Series the country hosted at Nyayo Stadium.
“This tournament is good for us because we need support so we can prepare well for Wafcon. The two friendlies will help us gauge ourselves. We will build on the previous Fifa Series because we don’t also want to disappoint our coaches since they know the level we were at the time,” Adhiambo said.
She noted that though they had a fairly good outing beating India and losing to Australia, attack was one of the areas that they needed to work on ahead of their trip to Morocco.
“We didn’t score many goals during the Fifa series and this time we want to push ourselves in attack and come out of the tournament with something,” the Simba Queens midfielder said.
Starlets will be without goalkeeper Lilian Awuor, who has been Odemba’s number one choice, as well as Enez Mango, who play for Romanian side Constanța. The duo is currently working on their permits and will not be available for the assignment. Goalkeepers Annedy Kundu and Vivian Shiyonzo will be up for selection
Forwards Jentrix Shikangwa and Elizabeth Wambui were not released by their club Simba Queens of Tanzania while Mwanahalima Adams was expected in the country last evening.
Ulinzi Starlets trio of defender Lorine Ilavonga and forwards Elizabeth Mideva and Shaline Nambengele had also not reported to camp. The three were with the club on a mentorship tour of Western and Nyanza where they visited schools that nurtured their players.
