Germany men upgraded their 2021 silver to claim Junior World Cup gold with a 2-1 victory over France on Saturday night in Malaysia.
A brave performance from the Germans saw them coming back from a goal down to clinch the win against a determined French side and secure their seventh title.
Jules Verrier opened the scoring for France in the second quarter, receiving a fine pass from Louis Haertelmeyer and evading numerous defenders to beat the keeper from close range.
Momentum was building for Germany, though, and Jan Cordes pounced on a poor French clearance to slap in an equaliser for Germany in the second minute of the half.
Liam Holdermann added an excellent field goal, holding his shot until Clément committed himself. Paul Glander nearly made it three from a penalty corner.
Spain proved the better team on the day and emerged as 3-1 winners against India in the third-place playoff.
In the battle for fifth place, it was the Netherlands who prevailed with a 2-1 victory over Australia, while 2021 champions Argentina had to be content with seventh spot after a 6-3 win over Pakistan.
Belgium’s Hugo Labouchere finished as the tournament’s top scorer with nine goals while the top goal-scoring team was Spain with 27.
France’s Gaspard Xavier was named player of the tournament and also received the FIH Rising Star award while Germany’s Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji was named best goalkeeper of the tournament.
