JOAQUIN Munoz, captain of Chile’s squad, says they are psychologically ready to face the Malaysians in the FIH Junior World Cup 2023 Group A opening match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Dec 5.
“We are excited to play against the Malaysians again. I hope we can win this time. I feel we have very good energy in the team in trying to get better results than the last time we played each other,” said the 20-year-old Munoz who is making his debut in the Junior World Cup.
“I feel like the team is prepared. Our team comprises young players who are 16 years of age and also have several others between 18-20 years of age,” he added, after a friendly match against Razak Cup champions Kuala Lumpur at the National Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
Four of the players in the team have 10 international caps. They are Francisco Cerda, Alexei de Witt, Raimundo Valenzuela, and Sebastian Wolansky.
The Malaysians secured a 2-1 win over Chile at the 2021 World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.
Munoz disclosed that seven players who featured in India are in the present squad.
In the Junior Pan American Championship at Bridgetown, Barbados, in April 2023, Chile finished third behind reigning Junior Cup champions Argentina, who were dominant throughout the tournament and defeated Canada in the final.
“We lost 7-0 to Argentina. In the first half, we were strong and had many chances to score. In the second half, we made some mistakes in defence and they scored,” he said.
“I personally think we are a stronger team now and we want to surprise the host nation in our first match. Playing against the Malaysian team will be very exciting. With support from home fans, I am sure the stadium will be filled,” he said.
Chile is ranked No. 20th in the latest FIH World Rankings, while Malaysia is ranked No. 8.
Munoz said that rankings do not matter so much, as what is important is to have a solid game plan, stay focused, and play hard.
“We are psychologically ready. We don’t feel any pressure and are not nervous at all. We more anxious to start the game,” said Munoz with a sheepish smile.
“We have prepared for this tournament for the last one-and-a-half years.”
The Chileans arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday after almost two days of traveling from the capital city of Santiago with transits in Sao Paolo and Doha.
Meanwhile, Chilean head coach Matias Amoroso, said the Junior Pan American Championships in Barbados was a good tournament except that matches were played on a dry pitch (it was not watered).
“We played most of our matches back home against clubs and occasionally against the national senior side. That is why we came here early and plan to play as many matches on pitches watered,” he said, adding that players will also need to acclimatise to the climate conditions here.
“We have a young team. Our average age of the team is 18 years. Malaysia is a strong team. I have watched some videos of Malaysia in action. We will have a game plan against the home team,” saidAmoroso without wanting to reveal much.
