Lausanne, Switzerland: The last day of the league stage matches at the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 had a few twists and turns. While the United States couldn’t qualify for the quarterfinals even after winning by a 6-2 margin against New Zealand, England made their way into the top 8 although they lost to Japan 1-4. 

The Pool B match between Spain and Korea was a nerve wracker too as it was a do-or-die situation for both the teams as both the teams had the same number of points from the same number of games. In the end, the fate was on Spain’s side as they beat Korea 2-1 to enter the quarters. Let’s take a look at the matches on Day 5 of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 in Chile. 

Pool D: England vs Japan (Full-Time Score: 1-4)

Even after losing to Japan in their last league match, England made their way into the quarterfinals with six points from three matches. Along with them, it was Japan, who also made it to the top 8, finishing second in Pool D. 

England opened the scoring through Lottie Bingham in the 17th minute but it was then Japan’s Risa Sasaki and Natsumi Oshima who scored a brace each to take Japan through to the quarters. 

“We are extremely happy to qualify for the quarterfinals. We worked on our mistakes from the previous match and played as a unit,” said Player of the Match Risa Sasaki. 

Pool D: New Zealand vs United States (Full-Time Score: 2-6)

The United States put in all its efforts but couldn’t get over the line. They finished third in their group as Japan qualified via goal difference, although they had the same points. 

Abigail Tamer’s hat-trick also went in vain as the United States fell short by just one goal. New Zealand was out of the contention for quarterfinals and both of them will now play for the 9th-16th place classification matches.

Player of the match Abigail Tamer said, “We walked into the game knowing how many goals we had to score, but we didn’t play well in the first half as we could score just one. The story would have been different had we put in more effort in the first 30 minutes.”

Pool B: Spain vs Korea (Full-Time Score: 2-1)

Goals from Sara Carmona and Teresa Saenz De Santa proved to be crucial as Spain beat Korea by a goal to advance to the next stage of the competition. Korea’s goal came in the 59th minute but it was way too late for them to equalize and then take the lead. 

Spain finished second in Pool B and will be taking on the Netherlands for a spot in the semifinals, while Korea will play against South Africa in the 9th–16th place classification match. 

Clara Barba was the star for Spain as she controlled the entire game with her impeccable gameplay. “Our first goal was to qualify for the quarterfinals and I am proud of the team effort that everyone put in today. Now, we will rest well and again start planning as we are going to face a strong team like the Netherlands in the quarters”, said Clara, who was awarded the Player of the Match. 

Pool B: Argentina vs Zimbabwe (Full-Time Score: 14-0)

Argentina cemented their place at the top of Pool B with this big win against Zimbabwe. It was a lop-sided affair as Zimbabwe even failed to enter the opposition’s circle. Argentina earned 16 penalty corners in the match as they dominated the proceedings from the start. 

Zimbabwe finished at the bottom of Pool B as they lost all their three matches. They will now face hosts Chile for the 9th-16th place classification match while Argentina will meet Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. 

Daiana Pacheco earned the Player of the Match award for her hat-trick. She said, “We have done well in the league matches and would now shift our focus to the big game against Australia. We are here to win the World Cup and we will try our level best to achieve it.”

To see the final pool standings of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023, click here.
To see the match schedule for the quarterfinals and classification matches, click here.

FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2023 – 03 December 2023

Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional

Result: Match 21

England 1-4 Japan
Player of the Match: Risa Sasaki (JPN)
Umpires: Kristy Robertson (AUS) and Victoria Pazos (PAR)

Result: Match 22 

New Zealand 2-6 United States
Player of the Match: Abigail Tamer (USA)
Umpires: Lizelotte Walter (NED) and Veronica Villafane (ARG)

Result: Match 23

Spain 2-1 Korea
Player of the Match: Clara Barba (ESP)
Umpires: Magali Sergeant (BEL) and Durga Devi (IND)

Result: Match 24

Argentina 14-0 Zimbabwe
Player of the Match: Daiana Pacheco (ARG)
Umpires: Kamile Mockaityte (LTU) and Katrina Turner (NZL)

Source: fih.hockey