Germany were the men’s Junior World Cup kings for a seventh time as they came from behind to beat France in the final in Malaysia.

Jules Verrier opened the scoring for France in the second period, receiving a glorious pass from Louis Haertelmeyer and evading numerous defenders to beat the keeper from close range. 

Germany, however, built the momentum and Jan Cordes pounced on a poor French clearance to slap in an equaliser in the second minute of the second half. 

Liam Holdermann added an excellent field goal, holding his shot until Marius Clément committed himself. 

It was the crucial strike as Germany won the title for the seventh time.

Player of the match Michel Struthoff was overcome with emotion, saying: “It’s unbelievable. They are such a good team…. My father is there and my mother… all the family, all the friends, thank you so much! We did it!”

Spain were bronze medalists with a 3-1 win over India.  The momentum shifted towards the Spanish when Nicolas Alvarez fired in a field goal to take the lead. India hit back off a penalty corner, Sunil Jojo, reacting fastest to the rebound and levelling the scores at 1-1 before the break.

In a dominant third quarter, Pau Petchame snuck one through the Indian defence to regain the lead. Spain put the game out of reach in the final quarter, Pol Cabre Verdiell crossing to Alvarez for a deflection.

Petchame said of the win: “For me and all the team, it’s history… we wanted to win third place because we worked a lot in the last two years… we are proud of all the team, they are so happy, I am so happy.”

The Netherlands took fifth place with a 2-1 win over Australia.