Netherlands women sealed a third consecutive world title at the FIH Junior World Cup after defeating Argentina in Santiago.
The Dutch defeated Argentina 2-1 in the final to reaffirm their historical dominance with a fifth title win in the six seven editions of the junior showpiece.
Two first-half goals from Ivy Tellier and Guusje Moes in the 25th and 28th minute gave the Oranje the ascendancy before Lara Casas’ third quarter strike made the final a tight affair.
Player of the Match Tellier said: “I think we played an incredible game. We were very strong and stayed patient, waiting for the right moments. Against a great team, that was vital for us.”
The conclusion of the tournament also saw Belgium secure the bronze medal, following a convincing 5-1 victory over China, managed by Englishman Adrian Lock, in the third-place play-off.
Their campaign was marked by consistency, including a single defeat via shoot-out in the semi-finals and a group-stage draw against Argentina.
Iris de Kemp and Noor van den Nieuwenhof finished joint top scorers with eight goals, alongside China’s Lihang Wang.
England finished in eighth place in the final standings.
England drew with China in the pool standings but couldn’t finish top of their pool, leaving them as one of two teams (with Argentina) to make up the six already-qualified teams in the quarter-finals.
It also left them playing the Dutch in the last eight and the wrong end of an 8-2 drubbing.
England lost their 7th/8th place classification match 3-2 to Australia.
