The Lionesses have not lost since Tokyo 2020 and dream of the World Cup. Photo: AP Photo / John Locher.
Las Leonas received great news from Antwerp mid-morning on a frosty Saturday in Buenos Aires. Local Belgium’s 2-1 victory over India in the Pro League allowed the Argentine team to win for the first time the most important annual field hockey competition which, in the 2022 edition, brings together nine of the best teams in the world. This is no small thing. But the data is enriched with a date: 2 July. That is to say, in just 21 days the team led by Fernando Ferrara will begin in Tarrasa, the nerve center of Spanish hockey, its path in a World Cup that for the first time in history will be co-organized by two nations.
After 14 games, 12 wins and two draws and a journey that began in February with a couple of goals against England at the National Center for High Performance Sports and ended in the last two presentations as a guest against the Netherlands which have defined themselves as a defeat in the Australian penalties but after two separate 1-1, the Lionesses celebrated in the distance a very special title. This serves to strengthen the emotional side of a group which, moreover, remains undefeated since after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medal the cycle of Carlos Retegui ended and in November the Ferrara cycle began with the (logical) conquest of the Pan-American Cup which was played in Santiago.
Although next weekend’s two games against India in Rotterdam have yet to be played to complete the Pro League schedule, the selected team will arrive at their own pitch in Tarrasa. with 18 unbeaten games and an average of over two goals per game in the tournament that, among the top world powers, was missing only in Australia. All this also adds up mentally in favor of a team that, for example, had to overcome the loss of Delfina Merino, one of the symbolic captains and one of the best Argentine strikers, by decision of the coach.
Maria Belen Succi, one of the names that allows you to dream big. Photo: AP Photo / John Locher.
It is also worth noting the low to high performance which was put together by a solid defensive structure developed in just six months of training that allowed the girls to generate confidence to function in play with the ball and an aggressive attitude to the advantage of recoveries.
The point is that the World Cup will certainly be something else. In principle, since the opponents will be different besides, except Australia, the names will be repeated. Holland continues to be the great candidate: for the location, as the World Cup will also be played in Amstelveen, a suburb of Amsterdam; for the immediate past and present because the Dutch are the current World and Olympic Champions, they have won three of the last four World Cups and played in the last five Finals of the Games; and because, above all, it has a roster of great figures that was strengthened by Eva de Goede, its captain, miraculously healed from a serious injury and confirmed in the squad.
The lioness they have the means to challenge that favoritism; They also have unbalanced players, especially in the goalkeeper (Belen Succi) and in the forward midfield, where they manage to hurt due to the arrival of so many people in the opposing circle. The element to improve is the short corner. Argentina produces far more than it specifies in this vital field of hockey. Despite being the team with the most goals scored through this channel in the Pro League, especially after Agustina Gorzelany’s drag, less than half (43 percent) of her goals came from a fixed line. You can – and should – improve the short taking into account that what’s to come will be different. Although very special too.
Source: Clarin
