Field Hockey World Cup: South African winners, the Blues are back in action

“From the very beginning, Australia was just an addition to us. The target was South Africa, and we succeeded! “After an 8-0 thrashing of the Australians for a World Cup run in India, Victor Charlet and the Blues have not lost sight of their priorities. Thanks to two goals from their captain from a small angle, one in the first and another in the last quarter, the French hockey players, ranked 12th on the planet, beat South Africa, two places behind (2-1).

A small but precious success for Frederic Beh’s players who dominated the match at Bhubaneswar Stadium. Since the French had no room for error against the supposed weakest team in their group of Australia (No. 1 in the standings) and Argentina (No. 7), they hope to continue the competition and dream of doing just as well. their quarterfinals four years ago.

“Across the match, a well-deserved victory,” relishes midfielder Francois Goyer. It’s always a special feeling to take advantage of. “Friday (10:30 in Paris) France will play their last Group A meeting against Argentina, in which they dominated the round of 16 of the last 2018 World Cup. “But the teams have changed a lot since then,” smiles Goya.

All scenarios remain possible. If the French remain third, they will have to face Belgium, the reigning Olympic champion, or Germany, one of the world’s heavyweights, in the 1/8 finals. Conversely, second place would have given them a more accessible round against Japan or South Korea to reach the quarterfinals…

As a reminder, the World Cup is one of the last major events for France (with the European Championship next summer) on its way to the Paris 2024 Olympics, which it automatically qualifies for.