Pain for Africa as Kenya and Zambia fall in FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup openers

Africa’s hopes for a strong start at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup were dealt a blow on Thursday night as both Kenya and Zambia lost their opening matches. The continent’s only bright spot so far has been Nigeria’s Flamingos, who stormed to a 4-1 victory over New Zealand on Wednesday.

Returning to the tournament for the first time since 2014, Zambia’s Copper Princesses gave a spirited performance but ultimately fell 1-0 to Brazil at the Félix Sánchez Stadium. Brazil, who are chasing their first-ever global women’s football title, broke the deadlock through Juju, a USA-based forward, who finished a swift cutback from Kalena Bellini in the 17th minute.

Despite several scrappy moments in the second half, Zambia’s goalkeeper Mwila Mufunte kept the African side in the game with a series of fine saves. In stoppage time, Ana Morganti, Brazil’s keeper, made a stunning stop to deny Zambia’s Blessing Maluba an equaliser, preserving the South Americans’ narrow lead and sending them to the top of Group D.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Junior Starlets endured a tough debut, losing 2-0 to England, a former semi-finalist, in their Group C opener. England took the lead in the 29th minute when Lola Brown converted a penalty, and Lauryn Thompson sealed the win with an 87th-minute goal, leaving the inexperienced Kenyan side little time to respond.

Marion Serenge, a 16-year-old forward for the Junior Starlets, admitted after the match that the team’s lack of experience cost them dearly. “The game was really tough. We have tried our best. Since it is our first experience, we are going to prepare more,” Serenge said, promising improvement in upcoming fixtures.

Despite their opening losses, both Kenya and Zambia remain optimistic as they head into their next group games. Kenya faces a daunting challenge against tournament giants North Korea on Sunday, 20th October, while Zambia will hope to bounce back when they play on the same day.

The group stage concludes with Kenya meeting Mexico on 24th October, and Zambia clashing with Germany. Both African teams will need to show resilience to keep their World Cup dreams alive.

While Nigeria’s Flamingos have lifted African spirits with their resounding 4-1 win, Kenya and Zambia now face critical moments in their campaigns. With the tournament still in its early stages, African fans remain hopeful that the two sides can recover and join Nigeria in advancing from the group stage.