Hockey: England lose to Argentina; Germany to face Pakistan in final
Last Updated: 22/01/15 10:31am
England will look to avoid the wooden spoon after losing 2-1 to Argentina on the penultimate day of competition at the 2014 Hero Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar.
East Grinstead's Ashley Jackson scored England's only goal in the contest with a penalty stroke in the 12th minute but two faultless drag-flicks from specialist Gonzalo Peillat either side of half-time turned the contest around in Argentina's favour.
In games like these you have to take your chances and I'm obviously really disappointed with the result.
Bobby Crutchley
A magnificent performance from goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi saw the South Americans through to face the Netherlands for fifth.
Meanwhile, Bobby Crutchley's side face Belgium on Sunday, with the winner finishing seventh.
Crutchley felt England failed to take their opportunities and were made to pay although he was pleased with the progress his side have made.
"In games like these you have to take your chances and I'm obviously really disappointed with the result.
"We are now in a position where we are dominating games and I think it's clear how much progress we've made over the year and since our last encounter with Argentina in the summer.
"It's now important that we rest and recover for our final game against Belgium tomorrow."
Germany face Pakistan
Olympic champion's Germany will take on Pakistan in Sunday's final after both progressed with dramatic semi-final wins.
The Germans knocked out five-time defending champion Australia 3-2 while Pakistan edged out hosts India 4-3 in a thriller.
Arslan Qadir was Pakistan's hero, scoring his team's first goal and also netting the winner 90 seconds from the end to silence a partisan 7,000-strong Indian crowd at the Kalinga stadium.
The victory enabled coach Shahnaz Sheikh's men to avenge the loss to their arch-rivals in the Asian Games final in South Korea in October that denied them a direct entry to the 2016 Olympics.
I'm proud of my team and how they played today. I'm confident of winning the tournament.
Moritz Furste
The final on Sunday will be Pakistan's first bid for a major world title since losing to the Netherlands in the Champions Trophy final in Lahore in 1998.
In the first semi-final, goals from Timur Oruz, Mats Grambusch and Florian Fuchs put Germany, who boast seven players from the 2013 Junior World Cup squad, in control before the Dutch replied through two penalty-corners from Chris Ciriello and Nicholas Budgeon to set up a tense finish.
Captain Moritz Furste played a crucial role in the win, making two goal-line saves during penalty corners and also setting up his team's third goal for Fuchs.
"It has been an incredible tournament for us because it is not easy matching top international sides with so many youngsters in the side," Furste said. "I'm proud of my team and how they played today. I'm confident of winning the tournament."
You can watch Sunday's Champions Trophy action on Sky Sports 3, starting at 8.15am.
