Argentina goalkeeper
Nehuen Hernando was the hero for the South Americans as they beat France 3-1 on shootouts to make it to the final of the
Junior Hockey World Cup at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
After the match finished goalless at the end of 60 minutes, Hernando stood like a wall and denied France from scoring on three occasions even as the Argentines scored thrice.
For France, only their captain
Timothee Clement was able to score as Hernando denied
Antonin Igau,
Corentin Sellier and
Lucas Montecot from scoring.
For Argentina,
Lucio Mendez,
Bautista Capurro and
Franco Agostini scored the three goals.
However, even as Argentina sealed their spot in the final, there were ugly scenes after Montecot missed his final shot. A scuffle broke out between players of both the teams as umpires and others tried their best to keep the players apart.
Earlier, throughout the regular time neither of the two teams had too many clear chances. France did begin well but it was Argentina who won two penalty corners in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Argentina again won a PC, but they failed to convert this one too. It was finally in the 25th minute that France won their first PC of the match but Timothee made a mess of it.
In the classification matches on Friday, Belgium beat Spain 4-3 via shootout after it ended 2-2 in regular time. They will take on the Netherlands, who thrashed Malaysia 9-3 in another match, in the fifth-sixth playoff match.