Germany wins the 2023 Youth World Cup of Hockey trophy for the seventh time
Disember 17, 2023
The German team celebrates with the championship trophy after the final of the 2023 Junior World Cup of Hockey at the National Hockey Stadium, on Saturday. Germany emerged as champions after defeating the French team 2-1
Germany wins the 2023 Youth World Cup of Hockey trophy for the seventh time
The German team celebrates with the championship trophy after the final of the 2023 Junior World Cup of Hockey at the National Hockey Stadium, on Saturday. Germany emerged as champions after defeating the French team 2-1. - Named Pictures
KUALA LUMPUR: Germany ended a decade-long drought to create history when they lifted the Junior Men's World Cup (JWC) Hockey trophy for the seventh time by defeating France 2-1 in the final at the National Hockey Stadium. Bukit Jalil, here, last night.
It was also Germany's fourth JWC victory on Malaysian soil, after winning three championships during the Kuala Lumpur 1982, Ipoh 1989 and Johor Bahru 2009 editions in addition to appearing as champions in the 1985, 1993 and 2013 editions.
Germany overcame a 0-2 defeat to France in last week's group stage match.
In a rematch of the New Delhi 2013 edition of the final, France, ranked seventh in the world, took the lead through a field goal by Jules Verrier in the 17th minute, in an attempt to avenge a 5-2 defeat 10 years ago.
Germany, however, turned the tide of the game in the second half when Jan Cordes snatched the ball from a French defender to equalize with a goal in the 32nd minute.
Liam Holdermann gifted Germany the winning goal with a field goal in the 40th minute to seal the title for the European giants.
Les Bleus, who finished runners-up in the 2013 edition, increased the pace of the game with a quick move in the last three minutes of the match but failed to penetrate the German defence.
Germany qualified for the final after defeating India 4-1 while France defeated Spain 3-1 in the semi-finals last Thursday.
Holdermann, 20, said it was an emotional victory after undergoing a medical check-up at the National Sports Institute (ISN) shortly before the 5-3 win against South Africa in the opening match of Group B, last December 5.
"I don't think it was a good day because it was very difficult but I didn't realize I scored the winning goal. After the break, we came with the mentality that we have to apply pressure and play better.
"It's unbelievable that we have been champions in my first JWC," the Berlin-born player told reporters after the match.
Meanwhile, France head coach Matthias Dierckens said his men lost possession and found it more challenging to penetrate the circle in the second half.
"I think our players were a little tired and missed some things, lost more balls in the second half. Some may say you must be satisfied with a medal, but no, we are sad that we could not win the World Cup," he said.
At the 2021 edition in Bhubaneswar, India, Argentina beat Germany 2-1 in the final while France won the bronze medal by beating India 3-1.
Earlier, the final match scheduled for 8.30pm was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain before the bronze medal match between Spain and India which started at 7pm instead of the original schedule of 6pm.
Meanwhile, Spain repeated their best performance of finishing third in the JWC in the 2005 edition in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after stunning India 3-1 in the third-place match.
Spain, ranked sixth in the world, scored three field goals through Nicolas Alvarez's brace in the 25th and 51st minutes, and Pau Petchame in the 40th minute.
2001 and 2016 champions India got a consolation goal through Sunil Jojo's penalty corner in the 28th minute to settle for fourth place finish again after the last edition in Bhubaneswar.
France captain Gaspard Xavier was named the tournament's best player and rising star while Belgium's Hugo Labouchere emerged as the tournament's top scorer with nine goals.
The best goalkeeper was Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji from Germany.
The trophies and medals were presented by the President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Datuk Tayyab Ikram and the President of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal. - BERNAMA
