‘FIH Hockey World Cup for Junior Men’ in Tamil Nadu. / Via fieldhockey.ca

In a game of the tournament so far, France, in a blitzkrieg, stunned Australia 8-3 after trailing 1-3 in a Pool F game of the ‘FIH Hockey World Cup for Junior Men’ in Tamil Nadu on Nov. 30.

The tight, exciting game had spectators sitting on the edge of their seats as France pelted in five goals in the last quarter. Day 3 saw possibly the most fiercely contested 45 minutes of the pool stage so far when Australia and 2023 runners-up France fought tooth and nail for supremacy in Pool F. But it was the French who eventually found an extra gear to end up on the right side of the result, ultimately winning with an overwhelming 8-3 scoreline after it looked like anybody’s game at 3-3 after three quarters.

While France’s second consecutive win put them well on their way to the quarterfinals, the Aussies are left with a tricky last pool game against Korea on Tuesday. Six pool toppers and two best second-placed teams go through to the last-eight stage.

The Aussies led 3-1 at one stage with goals from Matthew Hawthorne, Patrick Andrew, and Ian Grobbelaar after France scored the game’s first goal through Victor Saint-Martin in the 9th minute.

But it was all France from that moment on as far as goal scoring is concerned, with James Liddiard making it 2-3 and Tom Gaillard leveling it at 3-3 heading into the final 15 minutes.

The game turned completely on its head in the final quarter as France cut through Australia’s defense to score five unanswered goals. Gaillard scored his second goal, and Hugo Dolou also struck twice, while Gabriel Piole and Malo Martinache were the others to get on the scoresheet in the last quarter. Australia’s strategy of taking their keeper off to chase the equalizer cost them heavily as they go into the final day of pool play with a -3 goal difference.

“I think it was a tough match in each department of the game. We defended very hard and took our chances in attack against a very tough opponent like Australia,” said France’s Arthur Plauche after the game.

Spain emerged on top in an all-European contest against Belgium, and Japan stayed alive in the quarterfinals race by going past Asian rivals China. While the tournament also witnessed its first draw, the day ended with an entertaining battle that saw France stunning Australia.

After a cagey and goalless first quarter, Namibia got its act together to beat Egypt 4-2 in their second game of Pool D on Sunday.

The win kept Namibia mathematically alive in the tournament, but Egypt’s second defeat ended its chances of a place in the quarterfinals.

Last edition’s bronze medalists, Spain, beat fellow Europeans Belgium 2-0 to register their second victory and put a foot in the quarters, leaving the Belgians to play a win-at-all-cost game against Egypt in their last Pool D fixture.

Spain, who are yet to concede a goal in the tournament, broke the deadlock in the 20th minute of the evenly contested match when Juan Prado put the finishing touches on an incisive move. Soon after halftime, a 32nd-minute penalty corner saw Bruno Avila increase Spain’s lead to 2-0.

After two matches each in Pool D, unbeaten Spain is on top, while Belgium and Namibia both are at three points from a win and a loss each. Egypt has bowed out of the race to the quarters.

Japan revived its campaign on Day 3 after losing its opening game of the tournament and defeated Asian rivals China 3-2 in a tight Pool C match at Chennai’s Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium. China, however, lost its second game on the trot, which ended its hopes of reaching the last-eight stage. England fired on all cylinders in their must-win second game of Pool E to hammer Austria 13-0, with ‘Player of the Match’ Kaden Draysey and Henry Markham scoring hat tricks.

England, which had lost to the Netherlands 3-5 in its first match, had to not just win but also ensure a healthy margin of victory to stay in contention for a top-place finish in the pool and a direct qualification to the quarters.

The Austrians surprised England with their defense in a barren first quarter, but the Englishmen returned from the short break to score five goals in the next 15 minutes to lead 5-0 at halftime. Four goals each in the last two quarters took England’s tally into double figures.

Besides Draysey’s four goals and three by Markham, George Fletcher finished with a brace, while Olly Bennett, Alex Chihota, Michael Royden, and captain Max Anderson scored once each.

The tournament witnessed its first drawn match on Day 3 when New Zealand held two-time winners Argentina to 3-3 in Chennai.

The Pool C game saw three goals in the first 11 minutes, with Argentina taking a 2-1 lead through Mateo Torrigiani and Bruno Correa, while Jonty Elmes scored for the Black Sticks. The second quarter remained devoid of any goals.

Elmes led New Zealand’s rally after the halftime break, completing his second consecutive hat trick of the tournament to put his team ahead 3-2. However, Correa’s second goal in the 40th minute made things even at 3-3. The last 20 minutes of the match didn’t produce any goals, and the deadlock stayed till the final hooter, which leaves both teams at four points from two matches with a win and a draw each, while Japan too remains in contention for the quarters with three points.

The Netherlands put themselves at the door of the quarterfinals with a comprehensive 6-0 win over Malaysia, which puts the European giants at the top of Pool E with six points from two victories and a match against Austria left to play. The Dutch side began the tournament with a win over England, who remain in the fray for the quarters alongside Malaysia at three points each.

Two field goals by skipper Casper van der Veen and a brace of penalty-corner strikes by Joppe Wolbert led the Dutch win, while Thies Bakker and Tjeerd Boermans scored a goal each.

“I am happy that we are growing in certain aspects of the game. Our defensive discipline was a lot better than yesterday, I think… But I felt we were on the ball a little more in the first half, dominating, but in the second half, we lost that a bit. The tempo slowed down. All in all, two very good wins,” said the Netherlands’ coach, Jesse Mahieu.

“I think because of the format, we have seen a lot of the teams trying to find control because if you lose or drop points somewhere, then you can be out. So we haven’t seen the most offensive hockey yet, but I think it will come later in the tournament,” he added.

Amirul Islam’s second hat trick of the tournament engineered Bangladesh’s comeback from a three-goal deficit to hold Korea to a 3-3 draw in the Pool F fixture, but it puts both teams on the brink of elimination.

Korea, who had lost to France in their first game, were looking good to secure full points after taking a 2-0 lead in the first quarter with goals from Minhyeok Lee and Seunghan Son. The Korean lead grew to 3-0 in the 17th minute when Lee struck again and took his team to halftime comfortably ahead. Words from coach Siegfried Aikman in the break did the trick as Bangladesh found their mojo by creating three penalty corners, and Amirul didn’t disappoint his teammates by converting those in the 36th, 46th, and 56th minutes.

The last four minutes saw edge-of-the-seat stuff, with both teams jostling to score the winning goal, but it wasn’t to be.