KARACHI, 8 July 2005 — Defending champions India reached the semifinals of the 6th Junior World Cup with a narrow 1-0 triumph over England in a make-or-break encounter in the Dutch City of Rotterdam late Wednesday night.
Once again India’s hero was their short corner specialist Sandeep Singh whose 27th minute strike was enough to give the holders a date with Australia in the last-four stage of the 16-nation contest.
After top seeds Spain struggled before scoring late in the match to defeat Egypt 2-1, India only needed to defeat England to advance, without caring about the margin of victory.
Sandeep, India’s trump card in the competition, proved the match winner for his team with a first half flick from a penalty corner that helped India tame a resurgent English side.
After defeating the Netherlands earlier this week to knock them out of title contention, Spain received some hospitality from their hosts when the Dutch beat Korea 4-1 to allow their European neighbors to sneak into the semifinals. They will now meet Argentina for a place in this Sunday’s final.
Argentina stunned Australia 3-1 to secure a berth in the pre-finals. In an incredibly tight Pool E, Spain needed Korea to lose or draw to the Netherlands in the final match of the day to advance to the semifinals after they looked likely to miss out after an inferior goal tally compared to India threatened their campaign after both finished level on 12 points.
Korea got off to a bright start with Sung Kweon Hong converting a drag flick from a penalty corner early in the first half, but the Netherlands dominated the second half to smash in four unanswered goals.
A look at the semifinalists reveals that no continental confederation has more than one representative, with Pan America (Argentina), Europe (Spain), Asia (India) and Oceania (Australia) all with a chance of winning the Junior World Cup.
Former champions Pakistan will play in the 5-8 playoffs after finishing fourth in Pool F behind Argentina, Australia and Germany. The sixth seeds face the Netherlands in the play-offs today.
