The Netherlands, who have never won the Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup, downed former champions Australia 2-1 in the 5-6th classification match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
The Dutch scored through Dylan Lucieer (23rd) and Casper van der Veen (45th) from open play goals. Copper Burns replied for Australia.
For the record, the Australians emerged champions in 1997, won silver medals three times, and bronze twice.
Meanwhile, Argentina youngsters produced a stunning comeback from a 2-2 draw to beat Pakistan 6-3 for a seventh placing finish.
The Argentine win means that Pakistan, the inaugural 1979 champions, are headed home with an eighth-placing finish in the event.
The defending champions held back the Pakistanis in a stern test that saw Roelant Oltmans Green Shirts making quick inroads after a brace by Tomas Ruiz. Drag-flick specialist Ahmad Arbaz converted a penalty corner (12th minute) and a penalty stroke (26th) to level score 2-2 in the first half.
But the Argentines moved into full throttle in the third quarter and went ahead 4-2 through Ramiro Infanzon (39th), and Bautista Capurro (44th). The Pakistanis closed the gap at 4-3 with Arbaz netting his hat-trick in the 49th minute.
The World No 1 Argentina shut the door on Pakistan in the 50th and 56th minutes for a 6-3 win with goals from Ignacio Persoglio ad Juan Fernandez.
