KUALA LUMPUR – Spain qualified for the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup quarter-finals in style after demolishing the Asian powerhouse India 4-1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
Head coach Javier Perea said that the Red Sticks’ expertise with their penalty corners and counter-attacking gameplay was influential in their victory against the world number three side.
“It was a very good match for both teams, and we had a tough match full of high-intensity gameplay.
“I think we were better than them in handling our pressure, and I think the most important thing is that we scored goals from penalty corners and through launching attacks from their defensive errors.
“We are happy to take revenge against India after losing to them in the 4 Nations Tournament in Germany earlier this year.
“Since we have qualified for the next round, I believe the competition is going to be even tougher, and we are more than ready to face any team ,” said Perea in today’s post-match conference.
Perea further commended the performance of his captain Andreas Rafi and hopes to see him inspire the rest of the team through his leadership skills.
“Andreas is by far one of the top three players that I have developed and coached throughout my career, and I’m really happy to see him progress into such a versatile midfielder.
“Under his leadership on the turf, the team always plays well as a unit, and they share the same hunger and desire to fight for our nation as Andreas.
“Andreas is currently playing for Mannheimer in the German Hockey Bundesliga, and he also has 22 caps for the senior national team, bringing a great positive influence to the entire team with his presence,” Perea added.
Meanwhile, India head coach C.R. Kumar said that he was disappointed with his players’ discipline in the match, and he hopes that his team can rectify it to ensure they qualify for the quarterfinals.
“We have been giving away several fouls throughout the match, and the umpire was also giving us several cards.
“But I don’t blame the umpires, as they were only doing their job, and they need to do it as it will educate our players to be more disciplined.
“I’m disappointed that my players lost focus on several occasions during the game, and we failed to capitalise on several chances that we had.
“Before the game, we had a plan to avoid making silly errors, but unfortunately, we couldn’t stick to our plan, leading us to concede four goals.
“We hope to address our flaws and come back stronger in our next group match,” said Kumar.
Spain took the lead early through Pol Verdiell in the first minute of the match.
The 19-year-old attacker went on to score for Spain in the 41st minute through a penalty corner.
Andreas Rafi scored the remaining two goals for the Red Sticks in the 18th and 60th minutes.
India’s only goal of the match came through Rohit’s penalty corner in the 33rd minute.
The Red Sticks will meet South Korea in their final group match on December 9 while India will take on Canada to solidify their hopes of making it to the next round.
India and South Korea currently sit in the second and third spots in group C with three points each. – December 7, 2023