France became the first winners of the women’s FIH Nations Cup 2 as they won a thrilling final ahead of Uruguay in a shoot-out in Walcz.
It was an unforgettable decider with grit, flair, and a frenetic final five minutes that had everything. Uruguay took the early lead through Manuela Quinones after a blistering run from Manuela Vilar tore through the French defence.
France hit back before the break with a powerful reverse stick finish from Mathilde Duffrene.
It was Duffrene again who gave France the lead in the third quarter via a penalty corner, but the late drama was still to come.
Uruguay equalised with four minutes to go through Vilar, before France surged ahead again just 49 seconds later thanks to a mazy Yohanna Lhopital run. With just seconds left, Sol Amadeo’s feather-touch finish sent the game to a shootout.
Lucie Ehrmann was the hero, saving three shootout efforts to hand France the crown.
Duffrene, the player of the match, could not hide her emotion: “There is a lot of emotion and I’m not even sure where to begin. There are always sacrifices to get here, and I’m so proud of the team. The dream was to earn the FIH Nations Cup place, and we are delighted to have achieved that.”
The win gives them a great platform to build on for the EuroHockey Championships in August.
Elsewhere in the competition, Wales put in a strong performance to end in third with a 1-0 bronze match win over hosts Poland. Czechia finished fifth after a big comeback win over Italy.
