Germany’s hockey world champions remain a regular guest in the Olympic semi-finals. In Paris, the selection beat Argentina. Now they face the record Olympic champions.
The German men’s hockey team is in the semifinals of the Olympic Games for the sixth time in a row. The world champions won the quarterfinal thriller in Paris against Argentina 3:2 (2:1) and can hope for a medal again. In the semifinals, the team of national coach André Henning will face the eight-time Olympic champions India on Tuesday.
“Incredibly awesome. The last really important game we played was against Argentina in 2016. It was eight years ago, but it still feels really good. In an Olympic semi-final, everything has to be kept to a minimum – and that’s what we’ll do,” said Tom Grambusch. “We’re overjoyed that we won the thing,” added winning goal scorer Justus Weigand on ARD.
The goals for the German Hockey Association’s selection, which had taken first place in its group after the preliminary round, were scored by Teo Hinrichs (9th minute), Gonzalo Peillat (24th) and Weigand (54th). Maico Casella (11th) and Agustin Mazzilli (48th) equalized for Argentina. The last time Germany failed to reach the semifinals was in Sydney 2000, finishing only fifth. At the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo, the team had to settle for fourth place.
An Argentinian scores for Germany
At the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, the German team took the first chance to take an early lead. Niklas Wellen put the ball back perfectly into the middle of the goal and Hinrichs finished with a powerful shot. Before the first quarter break, the South Americans, who won Olympic silver in Tokyo three years ago, responded with a successful penalty corner.
On the other side, Peillat scored in the same way. It was a very special encounter for the Argentinian-born player. The now 31-year-old had won the Olympic gold medal with his home country in Rio 2016, but after a falling out with the association, he did not play for the national team for several years. He decided to play for Germany from 2022.
In the second half, Argentina pushed for another equaliser and was rewarded with a free kick in the final quarter. In the heated and thrilling final phase, Weigand put Germany in the lead for the third time.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
