BHUBANESWAR 06-Dec-2018
France, the lowest ranked team competing at the 14th Hockey Men’s World Cup, stunned the hockey world, defeating Olympic champions Argentina 5-3 to seal a second-place finish in Pool A just behind the Pan American giants here at Kalinga Stadium today.
The victory for France was undisputedly the biggest shock of the competition so far, upsetting the FIH World Rankings both in terms of the result and the effect on the final standings in the pool, with the European side finishing above higher-ranked New Zealand on goal difference and eliminating neighbours Spain from the competition.
New Zealand held Spain to 2-2 draw in the second match of the day. Spain (WR: 8) started the day two points behind opponents New Zealand (WR:9) but established a commanding 2-0 lead going into half time. Albert Beltran’s backhand shot flew into the roof of the New Zealand goal after just nine minutes, with the advantage being doubled by a close-range effort from Alvaro Iglesias two minutes before the end of the second quarter.
