Nairobi — The Junior Starlets will take on Portugal among three friendly matches lined up in their pre-tournament training camp in Spain ahead of their FIFA Under-17 World Cup debut in the Dominican Republic next month.

Starlets traveled to Spain last week as part of their program to prepare for the World Cup.

They are scheduled to play against Valencia CF Women this Wednesday before facing Portugal on Friday, and then finishing off with local side Intercity CF next Monday.

"Playing tough friendly matches will be key because they will help us measure up against opponents of a higher caliber because this is what we expect when we play at the World Cup. It is very key for us also psychologically for the girls," said coach Mildred Cheche.

The team played several friendly matches against Premier League sides during their two-week residential camp in Nairobi, where they measured up their tactics and picked up areas to work on.

The three games in Spain will thus be crucial for the team to sharpen up and ensure they dot all the I's and cross all the t's to be ready for the Dominican Republic.

Midfielder Pearl Olesi shared her thoughts on the team's experience in Spain so far;

"We're really enjoying our time in Spain. The training has been intense, and we're looking forward to these friendlies. Our goal is to get positive results and sharpen our skills as we prepare for the World Cup," she noted.

The FIFA U17 Women's World Cup kicks off on October 16, and runs through to November 3.

The Junior Starlets will kick off their group stage matches on October 18 against England. They will face Korea DPR on October 20, and complete their group fixtures on October 24 against Mexico.

Coach Cheche maintains that their minimum target on debut is to try and make it out of the group stage.