Hockey WC: France surprise Spain in impressive draw: Argentina thrash NZ to edge closer to quarterfinal

BHUBANESWAR: Argentina’s almost ensured their spot in the World Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over New Zealand at the Kalinga hockey stadium here on Monday.

A win against France (on Thursday), the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, will seal the Olympic champions’ quarter-final spot. On Monday, they were in control of the match except for the first 10 minutes. The first half was an exhibition of fine defending. Argentina thwarted New Zealand’s penalty corner and a couple of fine attempts in scoring a field goal.

New Zealand had the upper hand in the first 10 minutes of the start. But once settled in, the Argentines’ possession improved, they attacked more and shot at the goal five times. Employing full-press, they invaded New Zealand’s penalty circle nine times but ‘keeper Richard Joyce and the Kiwi defence regiment guarded their net amid high tension.

But with a three-second spectacle – wherein, Agustin Mazzilli, from the right, tomahawked the ball fluidly into the net after Gonzalo Peillat, from the opposite flank, slingshotted it to him – Argentina led 1-0, seven minutes short of the second quarter’s end. Mazzilli, in Argentina’s previous match against Spain, had equalised twice. The Kiwi ‘keeper was troubled again, within five minutes of the third quarter, when the dangerous Peillat attempted to double Argentina’s lead with his drag-flick in his team’s second penalty corner. But Joyce was upto the task.

Meanwhile, for the last two years, France were preparing hard for the World Cup, hoping that a decent performance in Bhubaneswar might lead to an upturn in fortunes for the sport in the country. Hockey is a professional sport in France, and hence the players had to prepare for life beyond the sport. That meant even shifting base to a common place for a camp was not possible for most players. With many of their players turning out for Belgium clubs and some studying in Paris, it was decided to divide the players into two camps.

They were held at Brussels and Paris thrice a week and the players used to travel on rotation and train together. But on Monday, while playing against the higher ranked Spain, it never appeared throughout the match that France, the lowest ranked team (World No 20) in the tournament, had not trained together as a unit.

France dominated Spain for most of the 60-minute match and held on for a 1-1 draw. The result keeps the hopes alive for both teams to make it to the crossover stage in a group headed by Argentina.