The Kenya Under 17 women football team, Junior Starlets, went 3-0 down to North Korea on Monday in their FIFA Under 17 World Cup campaign.
The loss saw the Mildred Cheche-coached side get eliminated from the showpiece after falling 2-0 to England in their opener last Friday.
After the loss, Kenya had hoped for Mexico to avoid defeat against England later in the day but their hopes were dashed when the young lionesses thumped the Mexicans 4-2 to confirm their place in the next round of the competition.
After their loss to England in the opener, coach Cheche made only one change to the starting lineup, dropping Lindey Atieno for Velma Awuor but it made no change as Koreans took a seventh minute lead through So Ryu Gyon.
Four minutes later, Korea made it 2-0 from Ho Kyong in a dominated start by the opponents where Kenyans barely had a sniff. The East African nation were to helped by the crossbar in the 36th minute following a Choe Il Son’s powerful shot that had gone past keeper Abwire.
Korea should have extended their lead just four minutes after the restart as Jon Il Chong sent the ball into the area to Ri Su Jong, whose strike hit the crossbar with the goalkeeper well beaten.
While the Kenyans had an improved second half, they were to be done four minutes from time when Ri Kuk Hyang scored her fourth goal of the tournament and third of the game.
