Harambee Starlets interim head coach Godfrey Oduor is already looking beyond Monday’s return match against Seychelles as Kenya pursue their dream of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Starlets carry an overwhelming 11-0 advantage into the return leg at Ulinzi Sports Complex, and Oduor insists his focus extends beyond completing the job, with tougher challenges awaiting Kenya in the subsequent rounds.
The tactician is using the two-legged tie to assess his squad, refine his tactics and build a team capable of navigating the increasingly demanding stages of the qualification campaign.
“We have seen how the first group plays, and now we will field the second batch, then sit down and analyse them objectively. We will maintain the same training rhythm to keep the team going,” Oduor said.
Kenya will face either Malawi or Zimbabwe in the next round if they finish the job against Seychelles. The third-round matches are scheduled for February and March 2027, according to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The qualification campaign features 35 national teams competing across five knockout rounds, with only two African nations earning places in the women’s football tournament at Los Angeles 2028, scheduled for July 11-29.
Oduor wants Monday’s encounter to assess players who missed Thursday’s starting line-up while experimenting with tactical variations that could prove useful against stronger opposition. “We will use a slightly different tactic, almost the same as the first one, so that we can see how we perform against the same opponent. We will maintain balance and rotation,” he said.
The coach also plans to study Malawi and Zimbabwe before determining how best to approach the next round. “Different opponents will call for a different crop of players. We will watch Malawi and Zimbabwe and plan accordingly for the next phase,” he added.
Although encouraged by his squad’s attacking potential, Oduor believes Kenya can improve their use of the flanks and midfield to create more scoring opportunities. “We have speed within creative players and us. We want to find ways of unlocking opponents through the flanks and midfield to create more scoring opportunities,” he said.
Thursday’s emphatic victory provided a welcome response to Starlets’ disappointing 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Morocco, where they exited the group stage without a win or a goal. The 11-0 triumph was also Kenya’s biggest victory in seven years, recalling their 12-0 demolition of Djibouti at the 2019 CECAFA Women’s Championship.
However, Oduor is wary of complacency as the opposition gets tougher, insisting that Kenya will approach every opponent with the same respect. “In a senior team set-up, there is no weak opponent. A Goliath mentality is never part of us. We give all our opponents the same respect,” he said.
He also thanked supporters for their backing, promising that the team would continue working hard to make the country proud. “We never take the 12th player for granted. We will do our best to make them proud,” he said.
Meanwhile, Seychelles coach Chris Yip-AU has cited the playing surface at Ulinzi Sports Complex and Nairobi’s altitude as factors that worked against his side during Thursday’s heavy defeat.
Yip-AU suggested the conditions made it difficult for his players to perform at their best, presenting another challenge for the islanders as they prepare for Monday’s return leg. Starlets will be keen to complete the tie before turning their attention to the next stage of their Olympic qualification campaign.
