Germany beat France 2-1 in final, Spain claim bronze, Pakistan compromise on 8th spot
Abdul Jabbar Faisal
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia): Germany have won the title of Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2023 after overcoming France 2-1 in the final here at National Hockey Stadium Bukit Jalil on Saturday night. Spain got third place in the tournament after thrashing India 3-1 in a play-off at the same venue before the final.
France’s Gaspard Xavier was named player of the tournament and also received the FIH Rising Star award while Germany’s Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji was named best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Argentina beat Pakistan (6-3): Argentina beat Pakistan 6-3 to finish their tournament on a winning note. The South Americans scored first, a Tomas Ruiz drag flick looping back to him off the keeper for an easy hit in. Arbaz Ahmad responded for Pakistan with a drag flick but Argentina regained the lead from a low Ruiz drag flick. Just five minutes later they turned over possession weakly for Ahmad to then score from the resulting penalty stroke. The half ended 2-2.
Argentina survived another poor turnover in the opening minute of the second half before going ahead again, Joaquin Toscani making a devastating run from midfield to feed Ramiro Infanzon for a deflection. The Argentinians extended their lead when Ignacio Nardolillo stole a ball 60m out and fed Bautista Capurro who screamed in his reverse shot. Ahmad then handed Pakistan a lifeline, completing his hat-trick from another penalty stroke, but Argentina responded immediately with an Ignacio Persoglio drag flick. Juan Fernandez then sealed the match and 7th place in the tournament for Argentina with a deflection from open play.
Netherlands beat Australia (2-1): The Dutch dominated the statistics and were patient with possession in a deserved 2-1 win over Australia. The Australians created dangerous chances for deflections in the opening half but the Dutch simply had the better opportunities throughout. Australian keeper Max Larkin made a great stick save to deny Timo Boers from a penalty corner in the 14th minute and added two more saves from open play before failing to clear a loose ball, Dylan Lucieer pouncing on the scraps for Netherlands to lead 1-0 at half time.
The Dutch controlled the second half, starving Australia of possession and testing the excellent Larkin repeatedly before Bouwe Buitenhuis popped a delicate overhead to unmarked Casper van der Veen on the p-spot for their second goal. Cooper Burns gave Australia faint hopes after rifling in a drag flick from a penalty corner just 90 seconds from time, but the Dutch secured the win and with that, fifth place in the tournament.
Spain beat India (3-1): Spain proved the better team on the day and emerged as 3-1 winners against India in the third-place playoff. The first half was evenly contested, India starting better but unable to beat Jan Capellades in goal. The momentum then shifted towards the Spanish who were patient in possession, and Nicolas Alvarez fired in a field goal to take the lead. India hit back off a penalty corner, Sunil Jojo, reacting fastest to the rebound and levelling the scores at 1-1 before the break.
Spain dominated in the third quarter, but Indian goalkeeper Mohith Shashikumar proved up to the task. Capellades then made an excellent save for Spain before Pau Petchame finally snuck one through the Indian defence to regain the lead. Spain put the game out of reach in the final quarter, Pol Cabre Verdiell crossing to Alvarez for a deflection. India had opportunities to claw their way back through several penalty corners, but Capellades kept them out, with some assistance from the crossbar, and Spain secured a well-deserved bronze medal.
Germany beat France (2-1): Germany came from behind to beat France 2-1 as both teams enjoyed periods of dominance in a fitting final. French goalkeeper Marius Clément got his angles exactly right in the opening minute to deny the Germans an early lead. A German defender then miss-trapped a ball and it sat up beautifully for Tom Gaillard who unfortunately failed to connect with his shot. Clément again reacted quickly to shut down Ben Hasbach as the first quarter ended. Jules Verrier opened the scoring for France in the second period, receiving a glorious pass from Louis Haertelmeyer and evading numerous defenders to beat the keeper from close range. The rest of the half was tightly contested, and France led 1-0 at the break.
The momentum was building for Germany though, and Jan Cordes pounced on a poor French clearance to slap in an equaliser for Germany in the second minute of the half. Liam Holdermann added an excellent field goal, holding his shot until Clément committed himself. Paul Glander nearly made it three from a penalty corner, but Clément made an incredible save to keep France in the hunt. The French attacked freely in the final quarter but couldn’t find a way through, and Germany claimed the gold medal for the seventh time.
Final standings: 1 Germany, 2 France, 3 Spain, 4 India, 5 Netherlands, 6 Australia, 7 Argentina, 8 Pakistan, 9 Belgium, 10 South Africa, 11 New Zealand, 12 Malaysia, 13 Korea, 14 Egypt, 15 Chile, 16 Canada
