France, England advance to quarterfinals

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 10: France eked out a narrow 1- 0 win over debutants China in the second crossover match to advance to the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey World Cup here 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 backtoback 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 counterattacking 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 Jean- Baptiste Forgues pass hit the crossbar.