FOUR members of East African Community; Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan are the serious contenders for U-20 Women World Cup finals, though the mission looks tough to accomplish.
Tanzania who started their campaign with a slim 2-1 home win against neighbours Uganda Hippos, must force a draw of any kind to advance to the next round.
It looks to be a tough mission for the both teams as if one of them advance will be facing either Senegal or Sierra Leone, though the former is favourite to advance following an away 1-0 victory.
Burundi, the third member of EAC found the going too tough against CECAFA member Ethiopia following a hefty 5-0 loss at home in Bujumbura over the weekend.
It will be a miracle if Burundi manages to turn tables away in Addis Ababa in early February return leg match.
The winner of the BurundiEthiopia match will face either Malawi or Zimbabwe whose first leg match in Blantyre, Malawi ended in a 1-1 draw.
Also facing a steep going are South Sudan, the fourth EAC members whose home opener against tough Algerians ended in shambles.
South Sudan suffered a 5-0 loss to Algeria at home in Juba, and to advance they must beat Algerians in Algiers at least 6-0.
EAC, however, is deeply missing the participation of Kenya and Rwanda in the race for U-20 Women World Cup ticket.
The presence of Kenya could have added something to the whole campaign as the country won the CECAFA Senior Women Challenge Cup in the finals held in Dar es Salaam.
