Jankunas and Matla score decisive goals in crunch semi-finals
Photo: FIH
Argentina and holders Netherlands booked their places in the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup final on Thursday night with identical 1-0 victories, setting up a title showdown between two of the sport’s leading nations.
Argentina edged Australia in the pre-final 1-0 at the Belfius Hockey Arena in Belgium, with Julieta Jankunas scoring the decisive goal in a tense encounter that remained goalless for more than three quarters.
Australians made life difficult for Argentina with a disciplined defensive display, while both teams struggled to create a clear opening in the first three quarters.
Argentina, however, applied sustained pressure and earned eight penalty corners during the match. Australia had three of their own, but neither side could convert their early opportunities.
Jankunas finally broke the deadlock in the fourth quarter, finding the net to give Argentina the lead at a crucial stage of the contest.
Australia pushed forward in search of an equaliser but could not find a way past Argentina goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino and a defence that held firm until the final whistle.
Later Thursday night, the Netherlands secured their place in the decider once again with a similarly narrow victory over co-hosts Belgium at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen.
This is the eighth successive occasion that the Netherlands have made it to the final.
Frederique Matla scored the only goal of the match in the second quarter through a counterattack, giving the defending champions a lead they would protect for the remainder of the contest.
Belgium responded with pressure of their own and earned four penalty corners, but the hosts were unable to turn any of those chances into goals.
The Netherlands had two penalty corners but also failed to convert them, leaving Matla’s field goal as the difference between the sides.
Belgium continued to search for an equaliser in the closing stages, but the Dutch defence remained organised and denied the hosts a way back into the match.
The Netherlands’ victory keeps their bid for another world title alive, while Belgium will now turn their attention to the bronze-medal match.
For Argentina, Jankunas provided the decisive moment after a match dominated by defensive resilience and missed penalty-corner opportunities. For the Netherlands, Matla’s second-quarter strike proved enough to send the defending champions through.
With both finalists demonstrating an ability to win under pressure, the final promises another closely fought contest, with Argentina seeking the title and the Netherlands aiming to defend their crown.
In the 2022 FIH Women’s World Cup final Netherlands had defeated Argentina 3-1 in Spain.
Netherlands will be looking for their fourth successive title and tenth overall while Argentina have been to six previous finals but won just two.
