Ireland, Germany and Spain all made winning starts to the men’s FIH Junior World Cup in Tamil Nadu, India as the 24-team competition got under way with a bang.
The Irish held off Canada 4-3 while the Germans beat South Africa 4-0; Spain proved too strong for Egypt.
They are among nine European sides involved in the competition with Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, England, Switzerland and France the others looking to make their mark.
Each game is available to stream on Watch.Hockey; before the event, representatives from the teams gave their thoughts on the competition.
Preview quotes
Lucas Balthazar, captain Belgium
“The last two World Cups didn’t go our way and that only fuels our hunger even more. We have a talented group and excellent coaches; everything is here for success. Now it’s about making the chemistry work, finding our rhythm, and turning potential into performance. Beyond results, we want to set the tone with our attitude, to lead by example, on and off the pitch.”
Oriol Torras, Head Coach Spain
“Our objective for the World Cup is to continue building on the progress we have made in recent years. The European Championship title demonstrated the team’s quality and cohesion, while the bronze medal at the previous World Cup confirmed our consistency at the highest level. We approach this tournament with respect for our opponents and confidence in our preparation, fully committed to competing for the top positions.”
Mateusz Nyckowiak, Captain Austria
“We are looking forward to the Junior World Cup with great excitement. As a young and ambitious team, we want to play with courage, give our very best on the pitch and show that we’re ready to compete with the best nations in the world. For us, it‘s all about growing together as a team and gaining valuable experience at the highest level.”
Casper van der Veen, Captain Netherlands
“We are proud to play in orange and strive for maximum results during the Junior World Cup. We want to show unity and go through fire for each other.”
Yannick Hug & Jens Flück, Co-Captains Switzerland
“We’re coming to India with passion, team spirit, and big ambitions. The Junior World Cup is our chance to prove Switzerland’s strength on the world stage and to exceed expectations.”
Gaspard Denis, Captain France
“Our ambition for the Junior World Cup is to achieve the best possible result. We want to give everything we have, play our hockey the way we know best, and rely on our strong team spirit to go as far as we can.”
Ben Hasbach, Captain, Germany
“We’re really excited for the World Cup in India. Being the defending champions gives us extra motivation, but we don’t feel any pressure from it. We just want to play our game, show what we’re capable of, and push our limits together as a team.”
Louis Rowe, Captain Ireland
“We have something to prove at this tournament, and I feel that with this group of players we can definitely showcase it. It’s a young group but we are hungry and excited at the opportunity to represent Ireland at a Junior World Cup and achieve something great together.”
Max Anderson, England Captain
“It’s an honour to be heading to the Junior World Cup with this England squad. It’s my first World Cup and it’s the top of the game for us and I am really looking forward to it. We’ve built a great culture and we have some great players amongst us so I think we can really show what we’re capable of out there.”
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