FRENCH FAIRYTALE England beat NZ 2-0
The bottem-ranked team of WC is creating ripples, enter quarters to take on defending champs Australia
France eked out a narrow 1-0 win over debutants China in the second cross-over match to advance to the quarterfinals of the men's hockey World Cup on Monday.
The lone goal of the match came in 36th minute from the stick of Timothee Clement.
France might be the lowest ranked team in the tournament at 20, but they had already shown the world that rankings hardly have any significance by stunning Olympic champions Argentina 5-3 in the pool stages.
France will face two-time defending champions and world number 1 Australia in the second quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The Frenchmen started on a bright note against world number 17 China and took the early initiative by earning four back-to-back penalty corners as early as in the second minute but wasted all the opportunities.
China made a subdued start to the game and allowed France to dominate the possession, relying mostly on their counter-attacking ability to stun their opponents.
In the 19th minute, a selfish play from Charles Masson denied France a great opportunity. After cutting inside the box from the right flank, Masson, instead of passing the ball to his teammate, went for glory and hit straight at the body of Chinese goalie Caiyu Wang from a tight angle.
China came close to scoring in the 21st minute but E Wenhui missed from close range after Ao Suozhu controlled a long ball over the French defence and made his way into the circle showcasing 3D skills.
Two minutes from half
time, France were unlucky as Etienne Tynevez's deflection from a JeanBaptiste Forgues pass hit the crossbar.
In the never next move, the Chinese goalkeeper once again came to his side's rescue by keeping out Blaise Rogeau's reverse hit from top of the box as the Frenchmen failed to break the 'Great Wall of China' in the opening two quarters.
China came out with more purpose after half time and came tantalisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 33rd minute but a sliding E Wenhui's deflection from Zixiang Guo pass was parried away by an alert France goalie Arthur Thieffry.
France finally broke the resolute Chinese defence in the 36th minute through Clement.
The move was started by Viktor Lockwood, who got to the baseline with a blazing run down the left flank and cut back to Maximilien Branicki in the centre. Branicki unleashed a fierce reverse stick at the far post which was deflected by Clement into the net.
A minute later, China secured their first penalty corner of the match but failed to capitalise on it.
The third quarter witnessed three penalty corners -- one to France and two to China.
In a desperate need for a goal to take the match into shoot-out, China pressed hard and earned two penalty corners in succession minutes away from full time but the French goalkeeper Thieffry was upto to the task on both occasions to keep a clean slate and ensure a last eight berth for his side. England outclassed New Zealand 2-0 in the first crossover match of the Men's Hockey World Cup here at the Kalinga Stadium on Monday.
England, who will now take on Olympic champions Argentina in the first quarterfinal on Wednesday, scored their first goal in the 25th minute as Will Calnan got on the scoresheet with a field strike.
Luke Taylor converted a penalty corner in the 44th to help England to a comfortable win.
The English were the better team against Black Sticks in the opening two quarters, carving out more goal scoring opportunities than their ninth-ranked opponents.
In the opening exchanges, England could have taken the lead in the fifth minute from a penalty corner but failed to utilise the chance.
After a barren first quarter, England drew first blood in the 25th minute when Calnan deflected in a high ball from skipper Phil Roper from the left flank.
Two minutes later, a Liam Ansell strike from close range went inches wide.
New Zealand came close to reducing the margin in the 49th minute but Stephen Jenness' shot from inside the box was parried away by England goalie Pinner.
In the final minute of the match, New Zealand secured another penalty corner but Pinner made a smart save to keep a clean slate and keep intact England's record of never finishing below eighth in the World Cup.