Having passed the first stage unbeaten, the Leonesse will face England in the quarter-finals. Photo EFE / Enric Fontcuberta.
Eight teams, the same dream. This Tuesday will begin the quarter-finals of the Women’s Field Hockey World Cup which takes place in Spain and the Netherlands, with the perfect presence of the eight best in the world ranking, including Las Leonas. The Argentine national team, two in the world, which has passed the first stage unbeaten, will see the action again only on Wednesday, when they will face, at 16:30 in our country, at the Olympic Stadium in Terrassa, Englandfourth in the FIH ranking.
As if to enter the atmosphere, on the first day of this final phase, there will be two very interesting clashes, which will be played in Wagener Stadium by Amstelveen. Germanysixth in the standings, will clash with New Zeland, eighth, at 12 in Argentina. And at 14:30 Hollandworld number one and current two-time champion, he will have to face Belgium, seventh. Both matches will be broadcast on Star +.
The other intersection of this round will be the protagonist Australiathird and Spainfifth, who will play after the match between the Argentines.
Las Leonas won the three games of the group stage, in Terrassa, to enter directly into the quarter-finals and ratify his status as great candidates.
The team led by Fernando Ferrerawho arrived at the World Championship in a great sporting moment and with sky-high confidence after being crowned champion of the pro-league without losing any game, defeated 4-0 South Korea debut in zone C. Wins the second game 4-1 against Spain, in the previous one the most tenacious rival of that stage. And closes with a 7-1 against Canada.
The biancoazzurra team is also the team with the highest number of goals scored, 15, and has among its ranks the top scorer of that initial phase, Agostino Gorzelany, with six goals. The Belgians are second on that list, with 12 goals, and the Dutch, top favorites for the title, third with 11.
Gorzelany, on the left, was the top scorer of the first phase of the World Cup, with six goals. EFE / Enric Fontcuberta.
Even if beyond those numbers, the Argentines left very satisfied with the collective performance and the excellent level of hockey they showed.
“We have created a beautiful World Cup zone. Very strong in the results and also in the game, which is the most important thing. Not the final result, but how we arrived at that result”, he commented in a chat with ESPN Alessandra Gulli, assistant coach of the team. “It’s a good group on and off the pitch. There is a great understanding, which is exciting. But this is a World Cup, everyone is ready to play and everyone, I think, doesn’t want to win.”
Las Leonas, who want to add their third world title after the ones they won 2002 Y Rosary 2010now he will face England, who had to play another game to access the quarter-finals.
England beat Korea in the round of 16. Photo EFE / Enric Fontcuberta.
It is that the British finished second in group B – in Amstelveen they beat Chinatied with India and lost with New Zeland– and moved on to the qualifying pass for the final stage. In that case, on Sunday they beat Korea 5-0, already in Terrassa.
The most recent history between the two teams favor Las Leonas, who prevailed 5-2 in the two matches played for the pro-leaguelast February at CeNARD.
The Argentines, who have had several days off since the closing of the group stage, will still arrive with a good pace of play. Because on Sunday they beat Australia 2-1 in a “friendly” training session, played with the same intensity as an official match.
If they add a new victory – to extend their unbeaten run in a 2022 in which they have not lost any official matches – they will advance to the semi-finals, where they will clash with New Zealand or Germany.
Oceanic also qualified directly to the quarter-finals, winning in Group B, with two wins (against England and India) and one draw (against China). The Germans, meanwhile, finished second in Group A, with two wins and one defeat (against the Netherlands).
The Netherlands also advanced to the quarter-finals after winning their three Group A matches. Photo EFE / EPA / KOEN VAN WEEL
The Dutch national team, the latest European and Olympic champion, also passed the first stage with an ideal score, beating Ireland, Germany and Chile in Group A.
In the quarter-finals he will go against Belgium, second in D (two wins and one defeat), who eliminated Chile in the qualifying matches on this occasion, led by Sergio Vigil, who they beat 5-0.
The winner of that group will clash in the semifinals with the winner of the one played by Australia, unbeaten winner of group D, and by Spain, which after finishing second in group C, beat India 1-0 on Sunday.
Source: Clarin
