Islamabad (Sports Desk):-It was another pulsating day of action at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 as Germany, Argentina, France and host nation India all secured their places in the competition semi-finals by winning their encounters in the last eight.
Germany’s shoot-out victory over Spain in the first match of the day earned them a semi-final clash against home favourites India, who narrowly defeated Belgium in today’s final match. Argentina’s superb 2-1 victory over the much-fancied Netherlands sets up a semi-final clash with the impressive France, who were comfortable winners against Malaysia. The timings for those semi-finals, which take place on Friday 3 December, are as follows.
Germany 2-2 Spain (3-1 After Shoot-Out)
Six times Junior World Cup champions Germany rescued victory from the jaws of defeat, scoring a dramatic late equaliser against Spain before edging the first quarter-final in the shoot-out. Germany opened the scoring in the fifth minute thanks to Christopher Kutter’s penalty stroke, with Spain’s Gerard Clapes restoring parity six minutes later with a penalty corner. Chances for Germany came and went before Spain’s Eduard de Ignacio-Simo netted a magnificent solo goal with just over one minute remaining. Just when it seemed that Germany’s competition was going to come to an end, Masi Phandt rattled home a penalty corner before Valentin Altenburg’s team triumphed 3-1 in the shoot-out to break Spanish hearts.
“It was really amazing”, said Germany goalkeeper Jean Danneburg, who came off the bench to produce a game winning performance in the shoot-out, earning him the Player of the Match award. “The feeling to catch the balls was so awesome. I’m so happy and proud of my team, that they scored the penalties. For the shoot-outs, I was very nervous this time. But I kept my focus on the important things. It’s a lot of fun with this team!”
Spain’s Alvaro Portugal expressed his disappointment. “I felt the team played better than Germany at times. We’ll now look at what did not go well in this match.”
Netherlands 1-2 Argentina
The second match of the day was also packed full of drama, with Argentina claiming a stunning late victory over a Netherlands team that many considered to be amongst the frontrunners for the title. The two teams traded goals within a minute of each other in the second quarter, with Joaquin Kruger touching home a crash-ball for Argentina before 17-year-old Dutchman Miles Bukkens netted his 12th goal of the competition with an expertly converted penalty corner. The Dutch looked the more likely scorers in the final stages, but it was Argentina who emerged triumphant when Franco Agostini’s cross from the left took a huge deflection from a Netherlands stick and flew into the goal. The Europeans rallied hard, but Argentina’s outstanding defensive line held firm to keep alive their hopes of adding a second Junior World Cup title to the one claimed in 2005.
“It was a very hard match and we’re very happy with this win”, said Argentina’s Tadeo Marcucci, who was named Player of the Match. “I also would like to congratulate the Netherlands, who are a great team. Now, we have to focus on the next match and analyse our opponent in the semi-final. We have confidence in ourselves, with the staff examining all our games.”
Netherlands captain Silas Lageman said: “We’re very disappointed. I don’t know what happened. We got a few cards so that obviously made the game more difficult. We were pushing for the lead, then a high ball came through and I don’t really know what happened. But it went in with a minute and a half to go when we were heading for shoot-outs.”
France 4-0 Malaysia
France captain Timothée Clément scored a hat-trick of penalty corners to help his team claim a comfortable 4-0 triumph over Malaysia and secure a place in the competition semi-finals for only the second time in their history. Clément netted superb drag-flicks in the 14th and 24th minute respectively to open a 2-0 lead for the Europeans, before Timothée’s younger brother Mathis Clément scored a spectacular volley from another penalty corner situation shortly after half time. France – the beaten finalists in the New Delhi 2013 Junior World Cup – added gloss on a dominant performance when the elder Clement completed his treble in the final minute of the match with another penalty corner.
“It feels amazing, being in the semi-finals of the World Cup is simply fantastic”, said Player of the Match Timothée Clément after the game, before looking ahead to his team’s upcoming semi-final opponents. “Argentina is a very good team so now we will focus on this match. We will analyse this team to see how they play.”
On competing in Bhubaneswar alongside sibling Mathis, Timothée said: “Playing a World Cup with my brother is amazing; he had a very good game today.”
Malaysia captain Akhimullah Anuar said: “The match was good. But with the pandemic we had a very short preparation time. So, we’ve done our best. Today, penalty corners worked very well for France and that’s the result.
Belgium 0-1 India
Reigning champions and hosts India produced a magnificent defensive display to defeat Belgium by a solitary goal in a replay of the competition final from Lucknow 2016. Belgium had more shots, circle penetrations, possession, and penalty corners, but it was India who emerged winners thanks to a 21st minute penalty corner effort from Sharda Nand Tiwari, who flicked high into the goal from the left of the circle. Belgium piled on the pressure in the final stages and boosted by a yellow card five-minute suspension for India’s Yashdeep Siwach, certainly looked capable of tying the match and forcing a shoot-out. A late penalty corner arrived moments after Belgium replaced their goalkeeper with an outfield player, but India goalkeeper Pawan produced two vital saves to send his team into the competition semi-finals at the expense of their opponents.
“With the plan we had, we tried to execute that but still a few things couldn’t happen”, said India’s Vishnukant Singh, who was named Player of the Match. “It was a really tough match. We cannot underestimate our opponents. Our plan was to win and it is important that we enjoy that.”
Belgium captain Dylan Englebert said: “We played a great game. I think it was beautiful to watch, great actions and we did our best. With a bit more luck we might have scored and gone to shoot-outs. Of course, we are disappointed, but I’m proud of my team and proud of what we did. I think we gave everything, and that is what we are happy [about].”
Results (Day-7):
Germany 1-1 Spain (3-1 After Shoot-Out)
Player of the Match: Jean Danneberg (GK – GER)
Netherlands 1-2 Argentina
Player of the Match: Tadeo Marcucci (ARG)
France 4-0 Malaysia
Player of the Match: Timothée Clement (C – FRA)
Belgium 0-1 India
Player of the Match: Vishnukant Singh (IND)
Semi-final Day Match Schedule – Friday 1 December 2021
(All times India Standard Time – UTC +05.30)
5-8th classification
10:30: Belgium v Spain
13:30: Malaysia v Netherlands
Semi-finals
16:30: France v Argentina
19:30: India v Germany
