KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is still confident of reaching the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup quarter-finals despite losing 4-0 against Argentina in the second Group A match today at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Head coach Amin Rahim said that injuries to several key players in the second and third quarters of the match resulted in the Junior Speedy Tigers defeat to the defending champions.
“We started off well in the match and we were trying to test their defence with several attempts, but we could not cope up with their intensity in the match.
“We knew that they were a strong side and the difference between us is that they can play a physically consistent match, and we can’t – and that resulted in us losing three players in this match.
“In order for us to compete against a physically strong side like Argentina, we need to improve our physical strength and that’s something we will work on in the next 36 hours before our last group match.
“We could have avoided conceding the first goal if not for our silly errors. However, my players didn’t give up and I appreciate their fighting spirit.
“Our journey is not over and we promise to work on our weaknesses and come back stronger in the next match against Australia on Friday.
Amin also said that playing against the Kookaburras is not going to be easy but it’s a match that they need to give their heart and souls out if they hope to achieve their target.
“We know how good the Australian team is as they only conceded one goal against Argentina, and today we saw the way they played against Chile so it’s going to be tough for us against the world number eight side.
“But we are not going to let ourselves down and we aim to rise up and prove to the world what we are capable of because our situation is similar to Australia’s.
“We need to beat them at all costs so that we can qualify for quarter-finals, and I am confident that we can do it,” Amin added.
Meanwhile, Argentina head coach Juan Ignacio Gilard said that he was happy that his players showed strong gameplay against Malaysia and believes that his team is on the right track to defend their title.
“If we can comfortably beat the host, I don’t think we will have any problem facing the other teams in this tournament.
“I’m happy to see our players giving their 100% in this match and most importantly that we won both our games without conceding a single goal is a big boost for us.
“I will be resting a few of my key players in our next game against Chile on December 8, and I will give chances to a few fresh faces in that match,” said Gilard.
Argentina has guaranteed their qualification to the quarterfinals with today’s victory.
Los Leones goals were scored by Bautista Capurro (20th), Marco Aguirregomezcorta (28th), Inaki Minadeo (44th) and Juan Fernandez (48th). – December 6, 2023