Germany beat France 2-1 in the final of the Junior Hockey World Cup 2023 National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday and clinched their record-extending seventh mega event.
A brave display by the Germans saw them cruising past the mighty French side as goals from Jan Cordes and Liam Holdermann guided their nation to the historic win.
The first half ended goalless as both teams failed to break the deadlock but France got on the driving seat during the second quarter with Jules Verrier finding the back of the box in the 17th minute.
The Germans struggled to break the determined French defense but after continuous attacks, they finally managed to level with Cordes’ strike.
Just eight minutes after netting the equaliser, the Germans got the lead with Holdermann scoring what turned out to be the difference between the two sides.
Holdermann’s 40th-minute strike from close range sealed the deal for the Germans.
It is worth mentioning that during the pool matches, France defeated Germany 2-0 but they couldn’t replicate their heroics in the final.
On the other hand, Spain demonstrated their superiority on the day, emerging as 3-1 winners against India in the third-place playoff.
In the battle for fifth place, the Netherlands secured a 2-1 victory over Australia, while the 2021 champions, Argentina, settled for seventh place after a 6-3 win over Pakistan.
Belgium’s Hugo Labouchere claimed the title of the tournament’s top scorer with nine goals, and Spain secured the distinction of being the top goal-scoring team with a total of 27 goals.
France’s Gaspard Xavier was not only named the player of the tournament but also received the FIH Rising Star award. Additionally, Germany’s Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji was honored as the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
