Junior men’s hockey World Cup | Argentina quells Germany’s challenge

A well-organised Argentina defeated six-time champion Germany 4-2 and won the title after a 16-year gap in the men’s Junior hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.

As Cyclone Jawad weakened, the Argentines — who overcame COVID-related curbs and other issues back home — rode on penalty corner specialist Lautaro Domene’s hat-trick to seal victory in a well-contested final.

Coached by Olympic gold medallist Lucas Rey, Argentina smartly controlled the game. It relied on sound basics, strong structure and timely tackles to nip most of the German moves in the bud.

Argentina, cashing in on some good moves, took a 2-0 lead. Lautaro Domene flicked high in the opening quarter and scored off a variation in the second.

Germany raided through hard hits and quick passes from outside the circle after half-time. One such move reduced the gap as Julius Hayner tapped in a loose ball.

Germany got three straight short corners early on in the final quarter before Masi Pfandt converted to restore parity.

However, Domene completed a hat-trick and Franco Agostini struck in the final minute to seal the win.

Earlier, an error-prone India lost to a better-prepared France 1-3 to finish fourth for the second time. It was the 2016 champion’s second loss to France in this edition.

Clement’s hat-trick

The host conceded as many as 14 penalty corners and trailed 0-1 after the second quarter as French captain Timothee Clement converted his team’s fifth short corner. Clement went on to complete a hat-trick.

Sudeep Chirmako’s 42nd-minute goal gave some hope but the host could not capitalise on several chances.

The results:

Final: Argentina 4 (Lautaro Domene 10, 25, 50, Franco Agostini 60) bt Germany 2 (Julius Hayner 36, Masi Pfandt 47).

3rd-4th places: France 3 (Timothee Clement 26, 34, 47) bt India 1 (Sudeep Chirmako 42); 5th-6th: Netherlands bt Belgium 6-4; 7th-8th: Spain bt Malaysia 4-1.