Spain rely on defensive game versus Rio winners Argentina
From a 10th place finish in the 2012 London Olympics to gold in the last edition (2016 Rio), Argentina have seen an almost vertical growth in world hockey. With the triumph, the South American nation became the first from the continent to be on the Olympic podium in the sport. Their rise started from 2014 World Cup, where they finished third, their highest finish in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Spain, who open their campaign against Argentina on Thursday, are ranked fifth, and the last time they tasted success at world level was silver in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “We know Argentina are ranked second but that doesn’t put us under any pressure,” said Spanish coach Fred Soyez.
SPAIN
All eyes will be on Argentina’s star drag-flicker Gonzalo Peillat. He was the top scorer in the previous edition with 10 goals.
Aware how dangerous Peillat can be, the Spain coach is depending on his team’s traditional strength. “We are known for defence and that is our traditional style of hockey. Simultaneously, we will wait for the opportunities to execute the counter-attacks. We will be sticking to this in tomorrow’s match,” said Soyez.
“Argentina are the best in penalty corners in the world, and once they enter the opponent’s striking area their focus is to earn a penalty corner. We know they are fast and skilful, but we have confidence in our defence. If we are able to restrict them when it comes to getting penalty corners tomorrow, the game will be ours,” he added.