Kenya's Junior Starlets lose 3-0 to China in U-17 Women's World Cup opener

Kenya's Junior Starlets, the country's Under-17 women's team, lost 3-0 to China in their opening Group E match at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Rabat, Morocco, on 19 October 2026, the Kenyan outlets Capital FM and Eastleigh Voice reported. Xu Yue put China ahead in the first half and Xu Xiaotang scored twice in the second.

China's opener came when Xu Yue got behind the Kenyan defence and scored.

Xu Xiaotang made it 2-0 in the 50th minute, reacting to a rebound after a shot hit the woodwork. She completed her brace about three minutes later, heading in a cross from Fang Zhenzhu.

Joan Orwa had a chance to pull a goal back for Kenya in the 63rd minute, but her weak effort was saved by China goalkeeper Niu Ziqi. Kenya coach Mildred Cheche made second-half changes to add attacking threat, but the team did not score.

Kenya reached the finals by beating South Africa 5-1 on aggregate. They won the first leg 2-0 in Pretoria and the second 3-1 at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.

This is Kenya's second appearance at the tournament. At their debut in the Dominican Republic in 2024, they lost 2-0 to England and 3-0 to North Korea, the eventual winners, and beat Mexico 2-1, finishing with three points.

China are coached by Ma Xiaoxu. They qualified by reaching the semi-finals of the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup in May, where they lost 4-2 to North Korea.

The tournament runs from 17 October to 7 November. China play Samoa on 22 October. Kenya face the United States on 22 October and Samoa on 25 October.