11-0! Kenya run riot over Seychelles in 2028 Olympic women’s football qualifier

By  Toto Arege

Correspondent

NMG Sport

What you need to know:

• The aggregate winner of the tie will advance to the third round where they will face either Malawi or Zimbabwe.
• Newly appointed Starlets coach Godfrey Oduor made several changes to the side that featured at the 2026 Wafcon.

Harambee Starlets thumped Seychelles 11-0 in the first leg of the second round of their 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games women's football qualifiers at Ulinzi Sports Complex, Nairobi on Thursday.

The return leg will be played on Monday at the same venue from 3pm. The Indian Ocean islanders are using Ulinzi Sports Complex as their home ground as they do not have a CAF-approved stadium.

The aggregate winner of the tie will advance to the third round where they will face either Malawi or Zimbabwe.

Newly appointed Starlets coach Godfrey ‘Solo’ Oduor made several changes to the side that featured at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco in August, benching several experienced players.

Annedy Kundu started in goal and had an easy afternoon between the posts, shielded by Janet Mumo, who made a comeback after a long absence, Leah Andiema, Norah Ann and Hellen Achieng.

Martha Amunyolete, captain Sheryl Angachi Elizabeth Muteshi and Valerie Nekesa started in midfield with Airine Madalina and Mercy Airo leading the attack.

Starlets opened the scoring in the eighth minute through Nekesa, who made history in 2024 when she scored Kenya’s first goal at the Under-17 Women's World Cup in the Dominican Republic.

Kenya continued to pile pressure and came close in the 21st minute when Airo's thunderbolt rattled the crossbar.

Muteshi doubled the lead in the 25th minute after a miscommunication in the Seychelles defence, tapping in her first goal for Starlets.

Nekesa made it 3-0 in the 43rd minute after manoeuvring past two defenders before slotting home from inside the box.

Seychelles coach, Singaporean Chris Yip-Au, responded in the second half with her first substitution, bringing on Berina Nathacia for Sofie Francoise to sharpen the attack, but Kenya remained dominant.

Muteshi grabbed her brace in the 53rd minute, pouncing in a goalmouth melee.

In the 61st minute, Madalina made it 5-0 after Seychelles failed to clear the ball from the danger zone.

Oduor made his first change in the 64th minute, introducing Elizabeth Mideva for Nekesa. A minute later, he rested Kundu for Vivian Shiyonzo.

Madalina then headed in the sixth goal from Andiema's corner in the 82nd minute, before Amunyolete netted the seventh seconds later.

Andiema was again the provider as Airo scored the eighth goal in the 86th minute. Substitute Mideva then netted a brace in the 87th minute and in the third minute of added time to seal the 11-0 rout.

Oduor said he will rotate the squad for the return leg.

"We must give every player in camp a chance to play. In the next match you will see a completely different squad," he said.

The coach praised his wingers for stretching the Seychelles defence.

"I am impressed by the pace at which all the players played. Players on the wings like Andiema and Mumo were outstanding and created good scoring chances. The composure of players like Airo, Martha and Muteshi has really impressed me," Oduor said.

"We will continue creating scoring chances. My emphasis will be to ensure the girls know how to utilize wing play. Today we tried to stretch them and it became very difficult for them to contain us," he added.

Seychelles coach Yip-Au admitted Kenya were superior.

"It's a learning experience for us. We knew Kenya is a stronger opponent than Ethiopia, whom we faced last time. We will try to have a different approach on Monday," he said.

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