11 December, 2023 Still reeling from dropping out of quarter-final contention, Belgium produced a massive 12-goal win over Canada to ensure they progressed to the playoff for ninth to 12th place at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. They’ll take on Malaysia in their next match after the hosts claimed a 4-1 victory over Egypt. South Africa recorded a comfortable 5-1 win over Chile to set up a clash with New Zealand, who emerged as 3-2 victors in a closely fought encounter with Korea. This leaves Egypt, Canada, Chile and Korea fighting over the bottom four places. Here’s how all four matches played out on Day 7… Malaysia vs Egypt (Full-Time Score: 4-1) Hosts Malaysia dominated all the statistics in their 4-1 win over Egypt. Harris Osman opened the scoring for Malaysia with a tap-in at the post after a powerful pass from midfield was deflected by two Malaysian players to undo the Egyptian defence. Mohamed Rafaizel produced some high-quality goalkeeping to deny the Egyptians before Harizan Faris fired a straight drag flick home for Malaysia to lead 2-0 at half-time. Malaysia were awarded 14 penalty corners in the second half but Mahmoud Hassan and the Egyptian defence frustrated them with some fine saves. Muhammad Danish Aiman eventually produced a low drag flick to beat the keeper on his right foot, and Che Nur Aqilrullah completed the win with a scrambled goal from open play. There was some consolation for the Egyptians as Abdelmonem Basel rifled in a brilliant goal. Player of the match Shahmie Suhaime said afterwards: “I had a very confident game today. Consistency is the point.” Belgium vs Canada (Full-Time Score: 12-0) Belgium romped home 12-0 against Canada with three players completing hat-tricks or better – Max Luyten completing his in the opening 10 minutes. First was a neat tap-in from in front of goal, followed by a diving deflection at the post. His third was an incredible reflex deflection as he was diving towards goal, somehow getting his stick to a ball high above his sliding body. Lucas Balthazar added a drag flick for the Belgians to end the half 4-0 up. Balthazar added two more in the second half – both from penalty corners – while Hugo Labouchere bagged his hat-trick in the space of eight minutes in the third quarter from two accurate drag flicks and a penalty stroke. Labouchere slotted in his fourth off a drag flick in the fourth quarter, Thomas Crols added a field goal and Luyten grabbed his fourth as the Belgians wrapped up the mammoth win. Player of the match Max Luyten explained: “We were pretty disappointed to not come out of the group stage because we felt we were a team that deserved to play a quarter-final and go and play for the medals, and we wanted to show the world that we’re a team that actually should play for medals and I think we did that.” South Africa vs Chile (Full-Time Score: 5-1) South Africa produced a dominant performance in beating Chile 5-1. Hans Neethling picked out a perfectly placed Ditlhakanyane Leruo who fired in from close range for an early score. David Tshebi then found himself on the end of another Neethling feed and teased his shot past the keeper to double the lead by half-time. The South Africans opened the gap even further in the third quarter, Neethling riding a heavy challenge and finding the net for his first, and then getting on the end of the good pass to deflect in for his second. Alexei de Witt pulled one back for the Chileans from a penalty corner, the South African keeper beaten by a big deflection off the first wave’s leg. But Nathan Ansell put in another one for South Africa, the penalty corner injector pouncing on the rebound after Julián Villanueva made a good initial save. Player of the match Hans Neethling commented on what the team did differently from the previous matches: “We backed our midfielders more and we played shorter passes.” Korea vs New Zealand (Full-Time Score: 2-3) New Zealand came from behind for a 2-3 win in a hotly contested match against Korea. The Koreans scored first, JunYeol Lim working beautifully in the circle for a reverse stick goal. Jonty Elms struck back to level the scores at 1-1 just before half-time. James Hickson rounded off some good inter-passing to give the junior Black Sticks the lead for the first time after 37 minutes. But Korea drew level within a minute, Dohyun Lim rifling a penalty corner in low at the keeper’s left foot. New Zealand then reclaimed the lead, Luke Aldred setting Scott Cosslett up with a beautifully executed short corner variation. Korea pulled their keeper off in the dying minutes to chase the game but the Kiwis absorbed the sustained period of pressure to hold on for the win. Player of the match Scott Cosslett looked ahead to the New Zealanders’ next match against South Africa: “We know we’re a good team. We’ve played them before, it was a good match, they’re a good team too, so we’ve got to just go away, prep right and come back with the same energy and fire that we had today.” To see the current pool standings after Day 7, click here. To see the full match schedule, click here. FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Malaysia 2023 – 11 December 2023 Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Result: Match 25 Malaysia 4-1 Egypt Player of the Match: Shahmie Suhaime (MAS) Umpires: Hideki Kinoshita (JPN) and Hyosik You (KOR) Result: Match 26 Belgium 12-0 Canada Player of the Match: Max Luyten (BEL) Umpires:  Bruce Bale (ENG) and Jonathan von Hoesslin (RSA) Result: Match 27 South Africa 5-1 Chile Player of the Match: Hans Neethling (RSA) Umpires: Nazmi Kamaruddin (MAS) and Rajput Sourabh (IND) Result: Match 28 Korea 2-3 New Zealand Player of the Match: Scott Cosslett (NZL) Umpires: Antonio Ilgrande (ITA) and Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL) Source: fih.hockey

11 December, 2023 The Netherlands Women’s team juggernaut rolls on as a late flurry buried Great Britain 5-1, before a winner in the final minute saw the Netherlands Men snatch a 2-1 victory in the penultimate day of the FIH Pro League mini tournament in Santiago del Estero. Great Britain Women were right in the game until early in the last quarter but from there it was one way traffic as the Netherlands scored a further three times, two of those goals coming from the stick of Joosje Burg in as many minutes. In the men’s match, a dramatic late save from Netherlands goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak allowed Joep Troost to score a dramatic late winner in just his second senior international appearance as the Dutch reversed their loss to Great Britain on Match Day 2. (Women’s) Netherlands v Great Britain 5-1 Determined not to have a repeat of the 8-0 drubbing they suffered against the Netherlands three days earlier, Great Britain put in an improved showing only for the scoreboard to blow out late on. The defending champions were again dominant and could possibly have won by more if not for a stellar performance from Great Britain goalkeeper Sabbie Heesh. The Netherlands, who had scored 12 goals in their two games coming into this contest, went ahead in the 10th minute when Frederique Matla had too much time and space in the circle allowing her to crack a tomahawk past Heesh. Great Britain were connecting with more effectiveness than their previous outing as they looked to cause the Netherlands defence trouble. However, Seesh was the busier of the two goalkeepers as she was required to keep out two Matla drag flicks and then a well struck shot from Freeke Moes in the 25th minute. Great Britain had a couple of forays into their attacking circle late in the first half without reward. The Netherlands’ lead was doubled in the 37th minute through an unfamiliar source as Sanne Koolen, in her 97th appearance, slapped a powerful shot from a penalty corner inside Heesh’s left hand post for her maiden international goal. Urged on by coach David Ralph for one huge final quarter effort, Great Britain pegged a goal back in the 47th minute when Elena Reyer wheeled around Rosa Fernig with pace into the circle before squaring the ball near the top of the D where Isabelle Petter controlled and fired her inch-perfect shot past the outstretched leg of Netherlands goalkeeper Anne Veenendaal. However, any thought of a Great Britain revival were immediately extinguished as Burg struck within 60 seconds and again a minute later. Burg snuck a shot from an acute angle inside the smallest of gaps left by Heesh at the near post for her first before rocketing a screamer into the top corner for her double. A one goal margin was suddenly three in the blink of an eye. Maria Steensma notched up the Netherlands’ fifth with her maiden international goal to round off the scoring as the Dutch made it three from three ahead of their final match of the mini tournament against Argentina tomorrow. “The first half was not good enough. The second half was better, we scored some nice goals…it was better teamwork and more polished so much better than the first half,” said Burg who was named Player of the Match. (Men’s) Netherlands v Great Britain 2-1 Great Britain were on the front foot early against the Netherlands, a Nicholas Bandurak drag flick thundering into the chest of Blaak with Jack Waller unable to connect on the rebound. There was drama with a minute left in the first quarter when Joep de Mol appeared to get the better of James Albery as he scooted into the circle, the umpire whistling for a penalty stroke as it appeared the Great Britain had pushed de Mol who lost his footing. However, the decision was overturned by the video umpire upon review. Despite plenty of end to end action there were no goals in the opening half. Bandurak had another drag flick well saved by Blaak to start the third quarter before the Netherlands started to arrest the momentum in their favour. Successive penalty corners from Jip Janssen were unsuccessful as it was going to take something special to break the deadlock. Enter Terrance Pieters. The Player of the Match in the win over Argentina expertly angled his stick to meet a drag flick from Janssen, sending the ball into the roof of the net giving Great Britain goalkeeper Oliver Payne no chance in the 47th minute. There would still be plenty of twists and turns as Great Britain levelled it up 90 seconds into the last quarter. The lively Phil Roper forced some panic among the Netherlands defence in the circle, the ball falling out to Rupert Shipperley who hammered his shot in and Sam Ward was on the far post to glance it home. Great Britain were aided when Floris Middendorp was shown a yellow card for an infringement on Ward, leaving the Netherlands with one less player for five minutes. However, the Dutch managed their way through their predicament before they produced a remarkable last 60 seconds of the match to win it. Blaak pulled off a brilliant save to prevent Great Britain sealing it, his heroics triggering a lightning counterattack that ended with Troost who came up with a finish of a seasoned veteran as he hammered a tomahawk into the bottom corner from the angle to make it 2-1. “I’m really proud of the team. It was a tough game for us, our third and fourth quarters were ok and we scored an excellent goal – the first for Joep Troost – so it was a great team performance,” said Blaak who was named Player of the Match. To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here. FIH Pro League – 10 December 2023 Santiago del Estero (ARG) Result: Women’s Match 5 Netherlands 5-1 Great Britain Player

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11 December, 2023 Lausanne, Switzerland: Guts, Gumption, Glory! Today, every Dutch must have felt stones under their feet and walls around them sweat in anticipation. Probably, a game that will be etched in the hearts of hockey lovers throughout their lives. Coming back from a 2-0 deficit to drawing levels to winning the shootout, Netherlands did the undoable to defend their trophy. The third-place face-off was a one-sided affair as Belgium beat England by a commanding 7-0 margin.  Let’s have a quick round-up of the final day of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup.  Spain vs Japan (Full-Time Score: 2-4) Japan secured 7th place in the 16-team competition by defeating Spain in their designated classification match. Sana Hayasuke scored a brace to ensure victory for Japan. Spain was ahead in the game till the first quarter as they were up by 2-1, but the tables turned as Japan came with fresh and renewed energy after the first 15 minutes and started putting a lot of pressure on the Spanish defense. Spain got 8 penalty corners but failed to convert any of them! Sana Hayasuke was also declared as the Player of the Match for the two brilliant goals she scored. “We tried hard but couldn’t reach the semi-finals but we are happy that we could sign off our campaign with a win,” said Sana.  Germany vs Australia (Full-Time Score: 0-2) It was a day of missed opportunities for Germany as they got six penalty corners compared to Australia’s one. They missed all of the six while the Aussies converted the only opportunity they got.  Amy Lawton, who has been a star for Australia in the entire tournament, opened up the scoring in the 25th minute while Grace Young scored off a penalty corner eight minutes later. Australia finished 5th while the Germans finished below them in the rankings.  “The whole dream was about lifting the World Cup. When we lost in the quarter-finals, we were clear that we wanted to finish 5th. We are happy that we could achieve our goal,” said Player of the Match Grace Young.  England vs Belgium (Full-Time Score: 0-7) It was a well-deserved win for Belgium who have been in prolific form throughout the tournament as they toppled the England defense with some classy goals. Astrid Bonami starred for Belgium with five goals to her name. With this, she became the highest goal scorer of the tournament with a whopping 11 goals.  The other two goals were scored by Lousie Dewaet (39’) and Perrine De Clerck (45’). England’s bad form continued as they failed to perform in both attack and defense.  “What an amazing team, what an amazing tournament! There are no better feelings than to finish at the podium of a World Cup. We are happy with how we performed as a unit” said Player of the Match Astrid Bonami. Netherlands vs Argentina [Full-Time Score: 2-2 (Shoot-out Score: 4-1)] Fierce competition, sheer adrenaline rush, and some great hockey, probably these were the things that defined the final of the Women’s Junior World Cup. Mikki Roberts, what a player! A player who turned the game in a few minutes with her two brilliant PC conversions, announcing herself on the world stage.  Zoe Diaz and Valentina Raposo’s goals put Argentina up by 2-0 in the first half, but the second half belonged to the Netherlands. Interestingly, all four goals in the match came off penalty corners. Dutch custodian Sophia Ter Kuile showed her calmness and precision as she saved the first two shootouts while her teammates converted all four chances that they got, making sure they returned home with that glittering trophy.  “When we went inside the dressing after being 2-0 down, we were still confident that we can win this. Everyone came out strong and gave their best. Probably we all have played one of the best games of our lives,” said Player of the Match Mikki Roberts.  To see the final rankings of all the teams, click here. FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2023 – 10 December 2023 Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional Result: 7th-8th Place Classification Match Spain 2-4 Japan  Player of the Match: Sana Hayasuke (JPN) Umpires: Kamile Mockaityte (LTU) and Jianjun Chen (CHN)   Result: 5th-6th Place Classification Match  Germany 0-2 Australia  Player of the Match: Grace Young (AUS) Umpires: Sandra Adell (ESP) and Minami Inamoto (JPN)   Result: Bronze Medal  England 0-7 Belgium Player of the Match: Astrid Bonami (BEL) Umpires: Lizelotte Wolter (NED) and Kristy Robertson (AUS)   Result: Final  Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (Shoot-out Score: 4-1) Player of the Match: Mikki Roberts (NED) Umpires: Victoria Pazos (PAR) and Magali Sergeant (BEL)   Individual Award Winners:  Best Player – Teresa Lima (ESP) Top Goal Scorer – Astrid Bonami (BEL) Best Goalkeeper – Mercedes Artola (ARG) Source: fih.hockey

10 December, 2023 Lausanne, Switzerland: The round of classification matches to decide the rankings from 9th to 16th place at the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 came to an end with a nail-biting thriller between India and the USA. While Chile had to satisfy itself at the 12th spot after losing to Korea, Canada finished last in the World Cup at the 16th place. Let’s have a quick round-up of the four matches that happened in Chile on Saturday.  Canada vs New Zealand (Full-Time Score: 3-5) Madeline Harris starred for the Black Sticks as she scored a hat-trick to beat Canada in an enthralling match to kick off the proceedings of Day 10 at the World Cup. New Zealand’s attack during the entire game was on point as their forwards earned 10 penalty corners.  Canada started the game on a great note with skipper Allison Kuzyk scoring in the third minute itself. The two other goals were scored by their forward Elizabeth Mathisen in the 27th and 50th minutes of the game, but it wasn’t sufficient as New Zealand had sealed the game in their favor with five goals.  “It’s been a pretty tough week for our team but proud to finish off on a high. It was a team effort today as we had decided to go all out from the first minute itself,” said hat-trick Madeline Harris.  Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Full-Time Score: 1-6) It was a completely South Africa-dominated game from the start of the match as Shanna Mendonca scored a goal in the 17th minute. It was then followed by a hat-trick by Malikah Hamza to seal the game in their favor.  Zimbabwe tried to come back into the game in the 36th minute via a goal from Tinodiwanashe Elijah but it was way too far from their hands to match up against the South Africans.  The Player of the Match Malikah Hamza said, “We had got a tough pool because of which we were out of the semifinals contention but we wanted to make a statement today and I am glad we were able to do it.” Chile vs Korea (Full-Time Score: 1-2) It was again a heart-break for the hosts as they had to satisfy themselves at the 12th place after losing to Korea in a close match. Chile’s captain Francisca Irazoqui started the game on a high as she scored the first goal in the 15th minute but Korea’s Mihyang Park found the back of Chile’s net in the next two minutes to level the game.  In the 22nd minute, Sujin AN’s drag-flick in the penalty corner was too fast for Chile’s goalkeeper to defend as they took the lead. Chile tried hard in the second half to score a leveler but the Korean defense was too strong for them to break past their line.  Goal-scorer Mihyang Park said, “We had decided to not give up on this match, whatsoever it may be. We missed out on a few penalty corners; else we could have won it by a bigger margin.” USA vs India [Full-Time Score: 2-2 (Shoot-out Score: 2-3)] The last and most interesting match of the day saw two teams who had a mixed run in the tournament play against each other. The game was tied at 2-2 at the end of 60 minutes and even went to sudden death after being tied at the end of five shootouts as well. The intensity of this game was on a whole different level.  Kiersten Thomassey scored both goals for USA (27’ and 53’) while Manju Chorsiya (11’) and Sunelita Toppo (57’) netted one each for the women in blue. Sunelita’s goal proved to be the difference as she scored in the dying minutes of the match to level the game. In the shootouts, it was Rutaja’s heroics that took India to victory, as she scored off both the opportunities that she got.  “We had seen videos of USA’s matches and had analyzed their game. We structured our game accordingly and played with full focus. We are happy to finish on a high at the end of the tournament.” To see the schedule of the matches on the final day, click here. FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2023 – 09 December 2023 Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional   Result: 15th–16th Place Classification Match Canada 3-5 New Zealand  Player of the Match: Madeline Harris (NZL) Umpires: Minami Inamoto (JPN) and Melissa Taylor (RSA)   Result: 13th–14th Place Classification Match  Zimbabwe 1-6 South Africa  Player of the Match: Malikah Hamza (RSA) Umpires: Junko Wagatsuma (JPN) and Veronica Villafane (ARG)    Result: 11th–12th Place Classification Match Chile 1-2 Korea Player of the Match: Mihyang Park (KOR) Umpires: Durga Devi (IND) and Victoria Pazos (PAR)   Result: 9th–10th Place Classification Match USA 2-2 India (Shootout Score: 2-3) Player of the Match: Rutaja Dadaso Pisal (IND) Umpires: Jianjun Chen (CHN) and Katrina Turner (NZL) Source: fih.hockey