European quartet Germany, Netherlands, France and Spain all advanced to the last eight of the men’s Junior World Cup in Malaysia thanks to impressive group stage performances.
France put on a star show as they backed up an opening day win over Egypt with a Jules Verrier double giving them a 2-0 result over Germany.
They then won a goal-fest against South Africa 5-4 – all goals coming in the first half – to advance with a perfect record. The reward is a quarter-final against Australia.
For Germany, either side of that loss to France, they beat South Africa 5-3 and Egypt 10-0.
Spain were the other side to go through with a perfect record. After a 7-0 cruise against Canada, they defeated India 4-1 with doubles from Pol Cabre Verdiell and Andreas Rafi. An 8-2 win against Korea saw them through to face Pakistan.
For the Dutch, they came out on top of the tightest of the groups. They were initially stunned by a big Pakistan comeback to draw 3-3 but they finished stronger against Belgium with two goals in the last seven minutes earning a 5-3 win.
A 3-1 victory over New Zealand put them through to play India while Pakistan advanced with them after they drew against Belgium who must now contest the ranking matches.
The quarter-finals all take place on Monday and can be viewed live on the FIH’s Watch.Hockey platform.
