A gritty France edged past Spain 3-1 in the semi-finals of the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.
The French will now go into a showdown with six-time champions Germany in the final on Saturday at 8.30pm.
For the record, Germany defeated France 5-2 in the final of the 2013 event in New Delhi, India.
For the Spaniards, the disappointment of not qualifying for the final deepens in this 13th edition of the JWC, while the Germans and French continue their journey for another day in the hope of creating history.
France and Spain have been in prolific form throughout the tournament.
The French topped Pool B unbeaten on nine points and defeatedAustralia 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
The Spaniards also came through Pool C matches unscathed. They headed the group with nine points and edged Pakistan 4-2 in the quarterfinals stage.
Today, France got off the blocks quickly and surprised Spain. Brieuc Delemazure scored off a penalty corner in the second minute to go ahead 1-0.
However, a spirited comeback by the Spaniards orchestrated by Aleix Bozal off a penalty corner conversion just seconds before the first quarter buzzer ensured the match level at 1-1 going into the second quarter.
France went ahead 2-1 in the second half through Stanislas Branicki’s 33rd minute open play strike, and Louis Haertel Meyer extended the lead 3-1 in the 42nd minute via open play goal. Both teams continued putting the pressure, but it was the French who went through to the final deservingly.
In the third-place match on Saturday, Spain will play India at 6.00pm. Matthias Dierckens, France coach, said:
“We did not start well in the game. We were too slow. But we played much better in the second half, and we could see the players running around the field to get the ball back. Our first half was really boring in a way. We were always behind on tackles.
At the moment, I have not thought about the final against Germany as we have just come out of the semifinals celebrating our victory. Off course, we want to win. Germany is a very powerful team, and we need to plan something strong against them.”
Oriol Torras Puig, Spain coach, said:
“I think it was the worst performance of the team in this tournament. It was a horrible moment for us. But I think justice was served because France is a very good team. We need to recover and fight for the bronze medal against India now.”
Tomorrow’s fixtures:
9.00 am – 15th/ 16th place match: Canada vs Chile
11.15am – 13th/ 14th place match: Egypt vs Korea
3.00pm – 11th/12th place match: Malaysia vs New Zealand
5.15pm – 9th /10th place match: France vs Spain
Saturday 16th
9.00 am – 7th and 8th place match: Argentina vs Pakistan
11.15am – 5th and 6th place match: Netherlands vs Australia
6.00pm – 3rd/ 4th place match: India vs Spain
8.30pm – Final: Germany vs France