Junior Hockey World Cup: Spain, Germany record big wins

NEW DELHI: Defending Champion Germany began its title defence in dominant fashion, beating South Africa 4-0 in the opening Pool A match of the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup 2025 in Madurai on Friday. Justus Warweg led the way with two goals from open play. Ben Hasbach and captain Paul Glander were the other names on the scoresheet.

Spain and Belgium, two of the other major contenders, got their competition in Pool D off to a dominant start with mammoth victories over African opposition.

Germany, the seven-time title winner, took some time to click into gear as the opponent put up a dogged defence in the first quarter. The opening goal came in the 19th minute, following a quick restart after a foul near the halfway line. The ball was played through to the right flank, from where Titus Wex squared it to the far post for Warweg to finish.

South Africa had two gilt-edge chances late in the second quarter but failed to equalise. Brett Horn found himself in space in the centre of the shooting circle, but his hurried shot went wide. A couple of minutes later, he was thwarted in his attempt to round the keeper after Germany’s custodian Jasper Ditzer went down early, blocking the angle.

Coach Mirko Stenzel’s side found some wiggle room in the 43rd minute when Hasbach drove the penalty stroke low into the bottom-left corner after goalscorer Warweg was tripped in the ‘D’. A minute later, Glander extinguished any hopes of a South African comeback after scoring from a PC. Germany, which began the game looking to maintain possession against the solid South Africa defence, found more gaps opening up in the final quarter, creating more opportunities for counterattacks. Warweg’s second goal came about after one such quick transition. The 18-year-old danced past the keeper before slotting the ball into the net on the second attempt to seal a comfortable win.

Ireland survived a late comeback effort from Canada to earn a 4-3 win in the other Pool A encounter. Captain Louis Rowe scored a brace for the Green Army, with Gregory Williams and Milo Thompson contributing the other two. Gurnoor Bhullar equalised for Canada in the second quarter before the Irish sped to a 4-1 lead. Leighton de Souza’s two PC goals in the final quarter went in vain.

In the opening Pool D encounter, Spain handed Egypt an 8-0 thrashing with Bruno Avila scoring a hat-trick. The third-place finisher from the previous edition was relentless against a hapless Egypt side that failed to muster anything of note going forward. Spain’s attackers ran the opponent’s defence ragged, dominating the striking circle throughout the contest. Avila’s hat-trick and Albert Serrahima’s second-quarter goal came via PCs. Josep Martin’s double and goals from Andres Medina and Ton Moran completed the rout.

Belgium went one better, completing a 12-1 demolition job over tournament first-timer Namibia to move to the top spot in the Pool.

World No. 3 Argentina defeated Japan 4-1 in  Pool C game at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai.

In the other Pool C encounter, New Zealand overcame a spirited Chinese fightback to win 5-3.

Pool B featured a landmark moment as debutants Oman and Switzerland made their first appearances on the Junior World Cup stage.

The Europeans settled nerves late in the first quarter when Jonathan Baumbach scored with just 40 seconds remaining. Switzerland began the second quarter confidently, dominating possession and doubling its lead in the 23rd minute through Mattia Ribaudo’s penalty-corner conversion. Several family members of the Swiss players, seated in the stands, added to the occasion.

The Swiss team’s path to this historic victory appeared relatively smooth as it scored in the next quarter to book a convincing 3-0 win. Agencies

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