England’s U-17 Women’s team kicked off their FIFA U-17 World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Kenya in a Group C clash.
The young Lionesses overcame a spirited Kenyan defense and a controversial VAR call to secure all three points.
The opening goal arrived just before halftime courtesy of a penalty converted by Lola Brown. Omotara Junaid’s teasing cross into the box was deemed to have been handled by a Kenyan defender, leading to the spot-kick decision.
However, the Kenyans vehemently contested the call, prompting England coach Natalie Henderson to deploy one of her two allotted Video Assistant Referee (VAR) appeals – a trial program being implemented by FIFA for the tournament.
Thankfully for England, the referee upheld the on-field decision, awarding a yellow card to Rebecca Odato for the handball.
Despite England’s dominance in possession, Kenya’s goalkeeper Velma Abwire stood firm, denying efforts from Junaid, Nelly Las, and Laila Harbert.
The introduction of Lauryn Thompson in the 84th minute proved to be a masterstroke by Henderson. Thompson, with her electrifying pace, surged forward and unleashed a powerful shot that found the back of the net via the post, sealing the win for England.
England will now turn their attention to their next group stage encounter against Mexico on Sunday. Mexico suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of North Korea in their opening match, with Choe Rin-jong netting a hat-trick for the Asian giants.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Brazil edged past Zambia thanks to a solitary goal from Juju in the 19th minute. Group D witnessed a stalemate between Japan and Poland, with both teams failing to find the breakthrough.
The action continues on Saturday night with a string of exciting matchups. Nigeria takes on Ecuador, Spain clashes with South Korea, Colombia faces the United States, and the Dominican Republic hosts New Zealand.
