Field hockey: Argentina made their debut with a World Cup victory in India

The Hockey World Cup from india started for The Lions with a win against South Africa, which presented a bigger challenge than imagined and which they could only beat 1-0 in Bhubaneswar. The next match will be on Monday against Australia, number 1 in the world.

Captain Matías Rey already said it in advance when he commented that they wanted to “go ahead with that first match because a World Cup debut is always difficult”. And boy was it for Argentina.

How come South Africa was much more than that 14th place which reflects the world rankings and because the Lions played against a tough rival but also against the nerves of having to open the World Cup at the Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar.

It was a tough match right from the start with two teams entering the field with very different positions. Argentina did it with the aim of always being the protagonist, having the ball and dominating; South Africa, with the idea of ​​waiting in their field to take advantage of a mistake by the Argentines.

Despite having managed to resolve earlier, Mariano Ronconi’s team only managed to make it zero in the 12th minute of the second half Lucas Toscani hits him hard with a backhand in the box and Maico Casella deviates just a little against goalkeeper Jones Gowan and put up the final 1-0 to declare third victory against South Africa at the World Cup.

Right towards the end in the last five minutes when the Lions narrowly won they cheered a little more and had two of the three corners they generated and South Africa had to work twice to avoid the draw. Before that, nothing. Or almost nothing.

The Argentine proposed then, despite having never played comfortably in a match they had managed to solve much earlier, but in which he ended up getting a victory that is worth a lot to reach their goal of access the round of 16.

The seven wasted shorts will also remain in the balance (there were some problems in serving and receiving as well as the difficulties that the synthetic had to face), the six shots on goal against the opponent’s five and the 10 entrances to the circle against the same number of South Africans.

But some important details will also remain, such as the fundamental fact that midfielders join the attack to generate numerical superiority. In this situation, repeated several times by Rey, Argentina found the best passes of their game.

Now there will be time to let go. To continue growing in Group A. Monday at 10:30 (Argentina time) will arrive Australia, who beat France 8-0 on their debut. The number 1 team in the standings, three times world champions and third in the last World Cup will be one bar higher. But all in all, a good thermometer to see where the lions are. Meanwhile, the area will be closed against France on Friday at 18.30.

Source: Argentine Hockey Confederation