Bhubaneswar: Jeremy Hayward and Tom Craig scored a hat-trick each, first of the tournament, to hand Australia a convincing 8-0 win over France in a Pool A match of the FIH men's hockey World Cup here on Friday. While Craig scored three field goals in the eighth, 31st and 44th minutes, Hayward converted three penalty corners in a span of 12 minutes as world No.1 Australia routed their opponents at the Kalinga Stadium here.
Hayward sounded the board in the 26th, 28th and 38th minutes from set pieces. Earlier in the day, former Olympic champions Argentina were made to toil by world No.14 South Africa before registering a 1-0 win in the opening Pool A match. After a barren and hard-fought first two quarters, Argentina, the 2016 Olympic champions, scored the winner in the 42nd minute through a field effort from Casella Maico.
Read: Hockey World Cup: Argentina toil to beat South Africa 1-0 in tournament opener
But it was far from rosy for the Los Leones as it was South Africa who pressed hard in the first quarter but failed to convert their chances into positive results. In the second quarter, Argentina came back strongly and secured three penalty corners in succession but wasted all as South Africa defended stoutly.
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Tom Craig is the player of the match for his hattrick of goals for Australia 🤩#HockeyIndia #indiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends #AUSvsFRA #HockeyWorldCup2023 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @FIH_Hockey pic.twitter.com/mHRp4oovUj
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Tom Craig is the player of the match for his hattrick of goals for Australia 🤩#HockeyIndia #indiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends #AUSvsFRA #HockeyWorldCup2023 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @FIH_Hockey pic.twitter.com/mHRp4oovUj
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023Tom Craig is the player of the match for his hattrick of goals for Australia 🤩#HockeyIndia #indiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends #AUSvsFRA #HockeyWorldCup2023 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @FIH_Hockey pic.twitter.com/mHRp4oovUj
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023
After the change of ends, South Africa had the first shy at the goal in the form of a penalty corner but the opportunity was wasted. Argentina broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute when Casella capitalised on a counter-attack and scored a brilliant field goal from Toscani's pass.
Down a goal, South Africa came out attacking in the fourth and final quarter, but the Argentine defence stood firm to stifle their rivals' forays and register a hard-fought win. Argentina will face Australia on January 16 here, while South Africa will take on France in their next pool match on the same day.
England put in a clinical performance to defeat Wales 5-0 and began their 2023 Hockey World Cup campaign with a win in the Group D encounter at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Friday. The team led by Ames David put in a dominant display to secure a formidable win. Park Nicholas' field goal gave England an early advantage in the first minute of play, and they added one goal each in the first and second quarters.
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England began with a bang and never looked back! Here are some of their game highlights against Wales.#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/0QPm90XrBT
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">England began with a bang and never looked back! Here are some of their game highlights against Wales.#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/0QPm90XrBT
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023England began with a bang and never looked back! Here are some of their game highlights against Wales.#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/0QPm90XrBT
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023
After the break, the English team scored twice in the third quarter. Ansell Liam helped England increase their lead to 3-0 by successfully converting two penalty corners on either side of halftime (at 27' and 37'). Field goals from Roper Phil (41') and Bandurak Nicholas (57') helped the English team finish 5-0. The Wales team was making their debut at the Hockey World Cup and English team dictated the terms during the match.
(Inputs from PTI)
