KUALA LUMPUR – Despite conceding a total of 22 goals in the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup so far, it appears that La Rojas are not giving up hope of finishing at least in the top nine of the tournament.
Speaking to Scoop, Matias Amoroso expressed his belief that his young team, with an average age of 18, are still in the process of learning and will become stronger ahead of the next World Cup.
“We are one of the few countries in the South American region that excels in hockey, and we have a vast pool of talent for this sport.
“We have several 16-year-old players on our team, and we are developing them for the future.
“It’s crucial to expose them to tournaments like this so they gain experience playing against some of the world’s best nations.
“This tournament is a great exposure for my boys, and I believe they will gain more experience and maturity when they play in the next World Cup in 2025.
“But for now, let’s focus on our next classification match – we are going all out to at least finish ninth in this tournament,” said Amoroso.
Amoroso also said that he looks up to his neighbour, Argentina, and believes they have all the qualities to defend their title.
“Argentina have been the pioneer of South American hockey, and we always learn a lot from them whenever we play against each other.
“Their way of attacking and defending surpasses any other team in this tournament, and I believe that my players would have learned many valuable lessons from them based on our defeat against them today.
“As a coach from the South American region, I root for Argentina to win the title once again, and with players like Ignacio Nardolillo in their team, they can win it again,” added Amoroso.
The La Rojas fell 8-0 to Argentina in their final group A match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
Argentina’s goals were scored by Ignacio (17th), Matias Rey (21st), Bautista Capurro (33th, 49th, 50th), Inaki Minadeo (55th), Nicolas Rodriguez (56th), and Marco Aguirregomezcorta (60th).
Chile will take on South Africa in the ninth to sixteenth-place classification match on December 11.
Germany will face defending champions Argentina in the quarterfinals on December 12. – December 8, 2023