Argentina win Women's Hockey World League crown

Rosario, December 13, 2015: Argentina clinched the Women's Hockey World League title defeating New Zealand 5-1 at the newly-named Luciana Aymar Stadium here Argentina on Sunday evening.

After two years of global hockey competitions, it all came down to one hour of thrilling, competitive hockey.While it was Argentina who dominated and wowed the capacity crowd with their stick skills, New Zealand – competing in their first major final since 2010 – played their part in this exciting and highly-skilled match.

The first half was predominantly Argentina, with Sally Rutherford in the New Zealand goal performing heroics to keep a clean sheet..

Just 15 seconds had gone in the second half before Argentina's Las Leonas opened their account.

It was the player voted Young Player of the Argentina Hockey World League Final, Maria Granatto (16'), who scored after a good run gave her the space she needed to slip the ball past Rutherford.

The second Argentina goal came when Noel Barriounuevo's penalty corner shot was saved but Maria Campoy was on hand to slam the ball home.

Anita Punt pulled one back for New Zealand when she put a penalty corner drag flick high into the corner of Succi's goal.

The two-goal cushion was restored when Campoy got her second goal and Argentina's third.

Noel Barriounuevo buried the ball deep into the goal from a penalty corner to take the score to 4-1.

Merino topped a great performance with an outstanding goal to make it 5-1 with just 10 minutes left on the clock.

Afterwards, a delighted and tearful Carla Rebecchi said: "I am so proud to have won a final in Rosario in front of such an amazing crowd and with this team."

Delfina Merino added: "Did we do it for the crowd? In truth no, first we did it for ourselves. We have had highs and lows this year so it was good to finish on a high. Then, of course the fans were amazing, but we are a young team and we have to sort our attitude out. We started badly but we learnt."

Meanwhile, Coach to New Zealand, Mark Hager, said: "I am very proud of my team, we didn't play our best today, not in any area of the game. We let Argentina run with the ball way too much, but, look, we were in our first final and we have to learn how to perform in finals."

In the first match of the day, Germany swept to a 6-2 victory in the third place play-off with China.

Goals from Pia-Sophie Oldhafer, Eileen Hoffmann, Julia Muller, Janne Muller-Weiland, Lisa Altenburg and Marie Mavers ensured a third place finish for the ninth-ranked team.

Wang Mengyu of China scored twice in reply to secure her status as top scorer with five goals in total at the Argentina Hockey World League Final.

Final standings

Winners - Argentina

Runners-up - New Zealand

3rd place – Germany

4th place – China

Individual Awards

Player of the Argentina HWL Final 

Stacey Michelsen (NZL)

Goalkeeper of the Argentina HWL Final

Li Dongxiao (CHN)

Young Player of the Argentina HWL Final

Maria Granatto (ARG)

Top goalscorer at the Argentina HWL Final

Wang Mengyu (CHN)

Just prior to the start of the final, the stadium was renamed the Luciana Aymar Stadium in honour of local lass Leonas hockey legend Luciana Aymar. Aymar retired from international hockey after Argentina won the 2014 Champions Trophy.

FIH Press release

Argentina face New Zealand in Women’s Hockey World League final

Rosario, December 12, 2015: New Zealand have made the final of a major international competition for the first time in three attempts today as they beat Germany 2-1 in the first semi-final of the Argentina Hockey World League Final being played here.

In other semifinal, Argentina chalked out 1-0 win over China to set up final showdown with New Zealand.  Now, Germany and China will contest 3rd/4th play-off.

In another match, Netherlands defeated Australia 1-0 to finish fifth; Great Britain scored five against Korea to finish seventh.

Goals from Kirsten Pearce and Liz Thompson were enough to beat Germany and book a place in the final. Eileen Hoffmann scored Germany's goal.

"To be honest it did cross our mind that Germany can come back in the latter stages of a match," said Sally Rutherford, the New Zealand goalkeeper. "But, we are so happy, we have a habit of finishing fourth in these major competitions, so this was an important hurdle to get over."

Meanwhile, German defender Nina Hasselmann said: "We are very disappointed. We had a good first half, but then let things slip in the following three quarters.

"We will watch the other semi-final [between Argentina and China] to see who we will be playing. And we will have a plan for that match."

Argentina took an early lead against China in the second semi-final of the day.

The goal came from a penalty corner that was slid home by Maria Campoy.

The world number three side then played a predominantly defensive game to prevent a China counter-attack.

For both teams it was a case of defending their circle and relying on speedy breaks to catch their opponents out of position.

Speaking after the game, a delighted Argentina captain, Carla Rebecchi, said: "It was a tough match but we played well. We were very pleased to concede no penalty corners as China have a great penalty corner routine. We would have liked to have scored more, but the important thing was to score a goal and not let that lead go.

"We have some new young players who have learnt a lot in this event. It is really important to use events like this in preparation for Rio with these young players."

Meanwhile China captain Cui Qiuxia said she was devastated because the team had worked so hard. They would now have to pick themselves up for the 3rd/4th play-off against Germany.

Team manager Zhao Xiaoyu added: "The team all had jobs to do and they all did them very well but Argentina are the third best team in the world and that was a tough game."

In the earlier classification matches, world number one side Netherlands defeated the world number two side, Australia, by a one goal margin after Lidewij Welten scored from a rebound after Eva de Goede had burst through the Australian defence to set up her teammate.

Australia worked hard to get back into the game, but found the Netherlands on top of their defensive duties and in no mood to concede the lead. The result means the Netherlands finish in fifth place, while Australia placed sixth.

Great Britain made certain of seventh place when they scored five past Korea. Nicola White opened and finished the scoring, with Ellie Watton, Helen Richardson-Walsh and Hannah MacLeod all finding the net. Han Hye Lyoung scored a consolation goal for Korea. 

RESULTS

7/8th place: Great Britain v Korea 5-1

5/6th place: Netherlands v Australia 1-0

Semi-final 1:Germany v New Zealand  1-2

Semi-final 2: Argentina v China 1-0

FIH Press release

China, New Zealand, Germany and Argentina take their place in semifinals

Rosario, December 10, 2015: It was a day of surprises in the Argentina Hockey World League Final as the teams entered the all-important quarter-final stages.

The biggest upsets of the day happened when first Germany fought back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Australia and then Argentina provided the home fans with the perfect end to the day as they out-witted the world number one side, Netherlands.

An energetic match between fifth-ranked China and eighth-ranked Korea saw the China emerge as 3-1 winners in the first quarter-final of the day.

This was an even game from start to finish, but where Korea dominated play in the middle of the field, China were the more cinical in defence and attack. China's goals were scored by Wang Mengyu, Xhang Xiaoxue and Yu Qian – who put the ball in the back of the net with just 30 seconds left in the match. Korea had opened the scoring through Cheon Eun Bi.

New Zealand outplayed Great Britain in the second quarter-final. The Black Sticks took 22 minutes to score their opener, through captain Anita Punt but it was a game that the New Zealand team dominated. 

Great Britain came back through a penalty stoke scored by Helen Richardson-Walsh, but then Olivia Merry scored from the tightest of angles to make it 2-1.

The third quarter-final looked to be going all Australia's way as they led 2-0 with 16 minutes to go.

Two goals from Germany's Lisa Altenburg sent the match to shoot-out and heroics from Kristina Reynolds in the German goal meant that the German team won the shoot-out 3-1 and progressed to the semi-finals at the expense of their higher ranked rivals.

Australia's two goals were scored by Georgia Nanscawen and Kathryn Slattery.

In the last quarter-final of the day, Argentina scored an early goal against the Netherlands and then defended the lead for the remainder of the game.

Delfina Merino was the hero as she took the ball wide in the Dutch circle and then fired home past Joyce Sombroek in the Netherlands goal.

The Netherlands threw everything into the match as they tried to breakdown the Argentine defence, but as Argentina captain Carla Rebecchi said: "Today we went to the game with the right attitude. We knew we had to defend and we went into the game knowing that of we got our defence right, we could win."

Meanwhile, Netherlands Naomi van As said: "We have to learn from this. We do not experience this very often, so it is important that we learn. Right now it is a horrible feeling, but tomorrow we will look at what happened and make changes so it doesn't happen again."

Quarter-Final Results (Times listed below are local)

Quarter-final 1 - China v Korea 3-1

Quarter-final 2 - New Zealand v Great Britain 2-1

Quarter-final 3 - Australia v Germany 2-2 (1-3 shoot-out)

Quarter-final 4 - Netherlands v Argentina 0-1

Match schedule and timings, Saturday 12 December (All times are local)

11:30 7/8th place: Great Britain v Korea

14:00 5/6th place: Netherlands v Australia

16:30 Semi-final 1:Germany v New Zealand 

19:00 Semi-final 2: Argentina v China

FIH Press release

Netherlands top Pool A after 5-2 win against Korea, New Zealand take second place

Rosario, December 9, 2015: In the two remaining Pool A matches in the Argentina Hockey World League Final, Netherlands beat Korea 5-2 to secure first place in the pool, while New Zealand beat Germany 3-1 to take second place.

The results mean that Germany finish bottom of Pool A and will play Australia. Korea will play China, New Zealand will battle it out with Great Britain and Netherlands will play Argentina in the Quarter-Finals.

In the first of the Pool A matches, which had to be rescheduled after bad weather the previous day, world number one team Netherlands hit five goals past sixth-ranked Korea?

The goal scorers for the Netherlands were: Lidewij Welten, Caia van Maasakker, Ellen Hoog, Kelly Jonker and Marloes Keetels.

Korea answered with two goals – one from Park Seung and a tap between her legs from Cheon Eun Bi.

In the second rescheduled match, New Zealand put away their chances in an energy-sapping game against Germany.

Charlotte Harrison opened the scoring, then Pippa Hayward and Liz Thompson followed up in the second half.

Germany scored a consolation goal through Franzisca Hauke.

Rescheduled Day Three Results:

Pool A

Germany v New Zealand 1-3 (0-1)

Netherlands v Korea 5-1 (2-1)

FIH Press release

Great Britain and China win big on day three

Rosario, December: The two final Pool B matches in the Argentina Hockey World League Final saw lower-ranked teams triumph over their higher ranked opposition.

Great Britain, currently ranked sixth in the world, beat the number two ranked team, Australia 1-0, while China beat host nation Argentina in a 3-1 thriller.

China's strategy of defending deep and hitting their opponents on the counter attack paid dividends as they beat the host nation 3-1 – a result that pushed Argentina from second in the pool to fourth.

Wang Mengyu, Zhao Yudiao and Yu Qian were all on target for China, while Noel Barrionuevo scored Argentina's consolation goal.

Although the goal scorers got the plaudits, it was goalkeeper Li Dongxiao whose brilliant and brave defending maintained her team's lead. The result means Argentina will take on the Netherlands, but China will not know their opposition until the final two Pool A matches are completed.

In the earlier match between Australia and Great Britain, Helen Richardson-Walsh scored the only goal in a highly paced game against the world number two side Australia.

This was a match that Great Britain needed to win to avoid finishing the pool stages in fourth place.

Heavy rain in Rosario caused the final two games of the pool stages to be rescheduled to Wednesday.

This meant that the pool A matches between New Zealand and Germany and Korea versus Netherlands will now be played on Wednesday, when the final three quarter-final matches will be decided.

Day Three Results:

Pool A

Germany v New Zealand rescheduled for 12:45 Wednesday 9 December

Netherlands v Korea rescheduled for 10:30 Wednesday 9 December

Pool B

Australia v Great Britain 0-1 (0-1)

China v Argentina  3-1 (1-0)

FIH Press release

Netherlands and Australia top pools in Women’s Hockey World League Final

Rosario, December 6, 2015: A dramatic last minute goal from Georgina Morgan gave Australia a 2-1 win against host nation Argentina in the Women’s Hockey World League final here.

The win means that the team ranked number two in the world tops Pool B, while the world number one team, Netherlands top Pool A following their win over New Zealand earlier in the day.

In the first match of the day, Franzisca Hauke scored the opening goal of the Pool A match between Korea and Germany, but the lead was swiftly cut when Korea captain Han Hye Lyoung found a way past the German 'keeper Yvonne Frank.

The match was Hauke's 100th cap for Germany. Coach Jamilon Mulders presented Hauke and Yvonne Frank (150 caps) with flowers after the game.

In the second Pool A match, the Netherlands put four goals past a hard-working New Zealand team. The goals came from Caia Maasakker, Kelly Jonker, Ellen Hoog and Laurien Lurink. The Black Sticks goal was scored by Petrea Webster. The result leaves the Netherlands top of the pool, with one pool match to play.

China and Great Britian played out a drama-filled 1-1 draw in Pool B. Both teams created chances, but it was the barrage of penalty corners and chances created by Great Britain that created a tense finish to the game. The goal scorers were Helen Richardson-Walsh for Great Britain and China's Wang Mengyu. 

There were cap milestones for Kate Richardson-Walsh (350) and Alex Danson of Great Britain (250). Richardson-Walsh is now just five caps off equalling the most caps for a female player at international level. 

In a thrilling final match of the day Argentina and Australia battled it out in front of hundreds of enthusiastic fans. Delfina Merino, who celebrated her 200th cap for Argentina opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the game. 

Jodie Kenny scored the equaliser from a penalty corner in the 37th minute and then Morgan was the hero of the hour, when she scored from a penalty corner in the final play of the game.

Day Two Results:

Pool A

Korea v Germany 0-0 (1-1)

New Zealand v Netherlands 1-4 (1-2)

Pool B

China v Great Britain 0-0 (1-1)

Argentina v Australia 1-2 (1-0)

FIH Press release

Argentina make perfect start at women’s Hockey World League Final

Rosario, December 5, 2015: The Argentina Hockey World League Final in Rosario got off to a sparkling start, not solely for the hockey, but also for the razzmatazz surrounding the appearance of local heroine Luciana Aymar at the Estadio Mundialista de Hockey pitch.

The opening goal of the tournament was a cracker from New Zealand's Pippa Hayward, who smashed the ball past Jang Soo Ji in the Korean goal to give the Black Sticks an early lead. The Black Sticks extended their lead through Kirsten-Leigh Pearce and then Gemma Flynn made it three. Seo Jung Eun scored a consolation goal for Korea. Black Sticks goalkeeper Sally Rutherford celebrated 100 caps for her country.

In the second Pool A match, defending champions Netherlands beat Germany 5-1, with goals from Maartje Krekelaar, Lidewij Welten, Kitty van Male, Ellen Hoog and Eva de Goede. Germany responded with a goal from Lydia Haase.

This game was also a celebration for umpire Michelle Joubert of South Africa. She was awarded the golden whistle for 100 international games. The award was presented by FIH representative Maureen Craig-Rosseau.

China and Australia played out a close match in the opening Pool B match as they played expansive hockey, with quick counter-attacks and strong tackling, but ultimately few goal scoring opportunities. Georgina Morgan scored the second goal of her senior

international career to give the world number two side the win.

A tough, feisty encounter between the host nation Argentina and Great Britain was a fitting finale to the first day of competition at the Argentina Hockey World League Final. While the world number three side emerged as winners, this was a close encounter with little quarter given by either team.

Great Britain's Susannah Townsend opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but that lead was quickly wiped out when Maria Granatto equalised for Argentina in the 15th minute.

The winning goal came from Agustina Habif, who batted in a rebound off Maddie Hinch's stick.

Day One Results:

Pool A

New Zealand v Korea 3-1 (1-0)

Netherlands v Germany 5-1 (2-1)

Pool B

Australia v China 1-0 (0-0)

Argentina v Great Britain 2-1 (1-1)

FIH Press release

Women's Hockey World League Final 2015 begins in Rosario from December 5

Rosario, November 30, 2015: The eight best women's teams in the world are about to descend upon Rosario for the Argentina Hockey World League Final 2015, taking place at the Estadio Mundialista de hockey from December 5 to 13.

Teams taking part in this event will be aiming to take the showcase Hockey World League title and in doing so guarantee qualification for next year's Champions Trophy in London, England.

With vital International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Ranking points also on the line, there's a lot to play for in Argentina.

The road to Rosario has been a long one, starting with the Round 1 events back in 2014 and culminating in Argentina’s third largest city.

Ranked third in the world, Argentina will be disappointed with their performance in the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Valencia, Spain earlier this year where they lost in the bronze medal match to Germany.

This will be seen as a chance to re-establish themselves as one of the dominant forces in world hockey – particularly as they can be assured of huge home support. For the likes of Carla Rebecchi, Delfina Merino and Florencia Habif, they will be looking to make their mark on this competition.

Reigning Olympic and world champions Netherlands, ranked number one in the world, are, of course, the team to beat, whatever the competition.

England managed to defeat them in the EuroHockey Finals, but be very certain that new head coach Alyson Annan will be looking for her charges to show what they are capable of.

Australia (World Ranking: 2) are a team that are getting better with every outing. Head Coach Adam Commens has been in position long enough to instill his philosophy on the team and with players such as powerhouse Jodie Kenny, the inspirational leader Madonna Blyth and stalwarts Georgia Nanscawen and Emily Smith never giving less than 100 percent, this is a team that has a strong base to build from.

In the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Valencia, China (World Ranking: 5) showed their tactical nous with a steady improvement in performance as the tournament unfolded.

Early mistakes were erased and the team went from being a team that defended well but created few chances, to a team that defended well and broke quickly to good effect.

One team that is on its way back is Great Britain, now ranked sixth in the world.

Playing as England, they swept to victory in the EuroHockey Finals – beating the Dutch in shoot-out. Prior to that, the Great Britain team had sealed first place in the Valencia Hockey World League Semi-Final.

The return of Crista Cullen to the line-up for the first time since 2012 is a move that will be viewed with great interest by the opposition.

This could also be the tournament that sees Kate Richardson-Walsh overtake Karen Brown as the most capped England/Great Britain female player.

Germany (World Ranking: 9) are a team that could cause a few upsets in Rosario. In Charlotte Stapenhorst, Die Danas has a star in the making.

Kristina Hillmann and Lisa Altenburg are always goal hungry; and in Yvonne Frank and Kristina Reynolds, Head Coach Jamilon Mulders is spoilt for choice when it comes to goalkeepers.

A bronze medal at the EuroHockey Finals earlier this year will have boosted this group of players' confidence.

New Zealand’s Black Sticks come to Rosario hoping to end the year on a high. The world's fourth ranked team finished out of the medals in the Hockey World League Semi-Final, finishing fourth in Antwerp, Belgium and then lost to Australia in the Oceania Cup.

Mark Hager will be hoping the experience of Anita Punt, Emily Naylor and Gemma Flynn will see the Black Sticks through to the final stages at this showcase event.

Korea (World Ranking: 8) is the eighth team that will star in Rosario. They were the first team to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics courtesy of the Asia Games.

The silver medallists at the FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Finals in Antwerp are a team that combines skill and a well-organised structure.

With strikers of the quality of Kim Darae and Park Mihyun, Korea must be in with a shout of a podium finish.

FIH Press release