Finalists. The Lionesses imposed themselves on Germany with a pure claw in Spain. Photo EFE / Alejandro Garcia
How to overturn a game that starts losing after 30 seconds? How do you recover from the impact of another goal at the end of the third quarter? How do you win on Australian penalties despite the fact that the first shooter is Argentine and fails? The answer is only one: they are Leonesse.
The women’s field hockey team qualified for the World Cup final after drawing 2-2 with Germany in regular time and winning 4-2 on final shots in Terrassa. Sunday, at 4:30 pm in Argentina (ESPN and Star ++), will face the Netherlands, his classic rival.
“I’ve lived them all. I’m happy. We prove to be a great team when things don’t work out. They started to win us, we started again and we had faith in penalties. Son, listen: ‘I’m in another final, but of the world!’“said Belen Succi.
The goalkeeper, who greets the national team at the World Cup, was the protagonist of the Australian penalties, especially when he put his chest in the shot of Fleschütz, who was then denied the goal from the stick and left the series 2-1 in favor of Argentina, after the successes of Agustina Albertario, Delfina Thome and the German Anne Schröder and the failures of Julieta Jankunas and Nike Lorenz.
Then, Agostina Alonso secured the shot for the 3-1 and Sonja Zimmermann made no mistake despite Succi’s attempt. Then it was time for the match. It was when Rocío Sánchez Mocchia stepped in front of the ball with the great illusion of ending the duel but she failed. However, the referee has sanctioned an infraction e Argentina and their captain had a second chance that they didn’t lose.
After an overwhelming start in their area, with victories against South Korea (4-0), Spain (4-1) and Canada (7-1), added to a 1-0 against England in the quarter-finals, Tokyo 2020 silver medal winners and undefeated Pro League champions this year at the Olympic Stadium in Terrassa they were able to play the worst match that could be presented to them.
The German intensity complicated all the plans of Fernando Ferrara, the DT who replaced Chapa Retegui on the bench, when in the first short and 30 seconds into the first quarter Zimmerman leads and Hanna Granitzki deflects 1-0.
Argentina failed to organize or get into the skilled German defense but, after a few minutes, the set pieces began to arrive and with them the opportunities for striker Agustina Gorzelany. In his fourth fixed game, the defender’s drag went straight into the goal, without Julia Sonntag being able to avoid the draw and the seventh goal of the top scorer of the tournament With 40 seconds left in that captivating first quarter.
As per a recipe, Germany started the second set the same way and only Succi’s tremendous save prevented that second goal in the first minute. The goal, however, was about to fall but in the other area it was the Argentine. Agustina Albertario, who had to wait for the failure of a video referee, scored the 2-1 after 13 minutes into the interval in the lead.
Despite Las Leonas leading, Germany had been better in the first half and appeared low on the scoreboard, which was overturned in the last play of the third quarter. Is that Argentina could not resist the last ball, failed to get the ball out and Stapenhorst took advantage of it for the 2-2.
“We will beat them in speed, we are faster”Ferrara told him. excited, The Leonas won in the last quarter, when Germany seemed to close the illusion of winning it on Australian penalties. But at 10 ‘the referee gave a law of advantage when there was an Argentina goal and Gorzelany could not in the short.
In short, it was a well-deserved victory in that definition in which every player counts in just eight seconds to compete with the rival goalkeeper and in which Sánchez Mocchia, Francesca’s mother, Leonahe had a second chance to take the national team to the final, where he will meet Holland, the rival he would always like to face, even if he is the most difficult and the current two-time world champion.
The illusion, in this sixth World Cup final for Las Leonas, will be to match what happened in Perth 2002 and Rosario 2010. He has a lot of courage; even the claws.
Holland also suffered to reach the final
The current two-time champion became the first finalist. It was not easy for the number 1 in the standings in the other semi-final against Australia, which gave him a difficult game. That’s why they could hardly win 1-0.
After not being effective in a penalty corner, with 10 unsuccessful situations, and having suffered the 0-0, 3 minutes elapsed from the end of the third quarter when Frédérique Matla’s drag in the 11th fixed, placed to the right of the goalkeeper, allowed minimal difference.
The 1-0 was maintained even when with one minute to go the Australians, who had no competition during the pandemic due to the closure of their country’s borders, performed their (only) second short of the entire match and they did not use the referee’s video they kept for a possible foot in the area.
Source: Clarin
