Pedro Ibarra celebrates his winning goal in the final against Australia and inset, the victorious Argentinean team

Argentinean magic conjures Junior crown

Talisman Pedro Ibarra conjured a pair of winning goals in early July to hand Argentina the men's Rabo Hockey Junior World Cup crown

by Matthew Slade, FIH Communications Manager

There is no more exhilarating result than a goal scored in sudden death to secure a major title and Ibarra’s penalty corner goal after the full time siren to defeat Australia 2-1 in the final did just that for Argentina.

Ibarra’s strike into the bottom left corner of the Australian goal broke a 1-1 deadlock and gave his team a first Junior World Cup title. Ibarra was a back-to-back hero for Argentina, also scoring in sudden death extra time in the semi final to defeat Spain by an identical score to their victory against Australia. 

Built on solid defence (they conceded the least number of goals in the tournament), Argentina moved unspectacularly but undefeated through the two pool phases, with draws against Belgium and Pakistan their only minor blemishes. 

No team dominated the tournament from start to finish, with India, Spain, Korea, Australia and Argentina all showing glimpses of their top form in the first week. Of the five, Argentina was the most consistent, methodically working their way through the preliminary rounds towards the playoff matches.

Only one of Argentina’s victories was recorded by more than a one-goal margin – against Australia in the teams’ last match before the semi finals. This statistic wasn’t helped by a poor conversion rate from penalty strokes, making the Argentineans battle through matches they could, and should, have secured with ease. 

Crucially for Argentina, Lucas Vila found his form from the penalty spot at the most important moment in the final to level the scores after the half time break.

It was the second major title for Argentina in 2005 after the senior men’s team won the Sahara Hockey Champions Trophy in Alexandria, Egypt, in April. It also improves on their silver medal at the previous Junior World Cup in 2001, when India overwhelmed them in a lopsided final. 

With this year’s dual major tournament victories, the Argentinean men have stepped firmly out of the shadows casts by the success of their women’s team over the past five years. 

The men’s program now has Sergio Vigil in charge, the former mentor of Las Leonas who moulded the Argentinean women into a world force. With so much rare talent to work with, the odds of Argentina reaching, and staying, in the top tier of world hockey are firmly in their favour. 

While there was natural disappointment for Australia, there can be no disputing Argentina’s claim to the Junior World Cup crown, with Oceania’s representative in the tournament defeated twice by the eventual goal medallist. 

Of the other teams, Spain looked composed in defence but couldn’t find the goals against the better teams and had to ultimately outlast India in a penalty stroke shoot-out to claim the bronze medal. India’s fourth place finish a realistic indication of their standing - their form too inconsistent to justify a second consecutive Junior World Cup.

Of the teams outside the top four, Korea was the most disappointing. In control of their destiny, Korea capitulated in the second half of their last pool match against Netherlands to miss the semi finals. After that, they produced two substandard performances to finish eighth.

Stats Pack
Final Standings
1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. Spain
4. India
5. Netherlands
6. Germany
7. Pakistan
8. Korea
9. England
10. Malaysia
11. Belgium
12. Egypt
13. South Africa
14. Poland
15. Chile
16. Mexico

Awards
Player of the Tournament: Lucas Vila (ARG)
Most Promising Player: Kevinder Singh (MAS)
Top Goal Scorer: Colin Hennessy (AUS) 15
Fair Play Trophy: Mexico

Stats
Matches Played: 62
Goals Scored: 317
Average Goals per Match: 5.1
Field Goals Scored: 192
Penalty Corner Goals Scored: 117
Penalty Stroke Goals Scored: 8
Number of Goals Scored in 1st Half: 135
Number of Goals Scored in 2nd Half: 182
Top Goal Scorer (team): Australia (38)