New Zealand had a mountain to climb, but they proved worthy of the challenge. Following a scoreless third quarter, Hayden Phillips produced a moment of magic to drag his team back into the game, smashing into the top comer with nine minutes remaining. Sensing the come-back was on, Black Sticks Head Coach Darren Smith replaced his goalkeeper with an outfield player to increase the pressure on the Europeans. It works wonders, with Kane Russell scoring a low penalty corner drag-flick to move New Zealand up to second in the pool.

For Spain, the draw against the Black Sticks moved them temporarily into third in the table, a point ahead of France (WR:20, who needed to get a result against Olympic champions and Pool A winners Argentina (WR:2) if they were to progress into the knockout stages. A win for France was enough for a second-place finish, but with an 18-place difference in the World Rankings, it was always going to be a big ask. However, the crowd at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium were in for a treat as the lowest ranked team in the competition produced something verging on the unbelievable.

France stormed into a stormed into a 4-1 half-time lead against their illustrious opponents, with Hugo Genestet, Victor Charlet, Aristide Coisne and Gaspard Baumgarten on target for the Europeans, with Lucas Martinez scoring for Los Leones. It was a fantasy half-time score-line for France, putting them within touching distance of a remarkable second place finish in the pool and would subsequently eliminate Spain from the competition.

Although the lead held by France was a commanding one, Argentina have proven many times down the years that they are capable of coming back from unlikely positions. Gonzalo Peillat’s low penalty corner just before the end of the third quarter gave the South Americans hope, setting up a very exciting final quarter.

Another ferocious penalty corner drag-flick from Peillat made it 4-3 at the start of the fourth period, but it was France who had the last say when Francois Goyet deflected home to seal an extraordinary 5-3 victory to move into the cross-over play-offs as the second placed finisher in Pool A. Hugo Genestet was adjudged the Player of the Match. Despite the result, it was a milestone day for Argentina’s Agustin Mazzilli, who made his 200thsenior international appearance for Los Leones.

RESULTS:

Dec 6 (Match No 17, Pool-A): Spain (Albert Beltran 9-FG, Alvaro Iglesias 27-FG) drew with New Zealand (Hayden Phillips 50-FG, Kane Russell 56-PC) 2-2. PoM: Josep Romeu (Spain).
Dec 6 (Match No 18, Pool-A): France (Hugo Genestet 18-FG, Victor Charlet 23-PC, Aristide Coisne 26-FG, Gaspard Baumgarten30-FG, Francois Goyet 54-FG) beat Argentina (Lucas Martinez 28-FG, Gonzalo Peillat 44-PC, 48-PC) 5-3. PoM: Hugo Genestet.
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TOP: France captain Victor Charlet celebrates after scoring a goal against Olympic champions Argentina in their World Cup match on December 6, 2018.
RIGHT: Odisha BJP leader Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo presents the Player of the Match award to France player Hugo Genestet on December 6, 2018.