Junior Hockey World Cup Challenge Awaits SA

The SA U21 team for the FIH Ergo Hockey Junior World Cup, in Mönchengladbach, Germany, from Saturday 27 July to 4 August 4, 2013, has been officially confirmed by the South African Hockey Association (See below for team members, tournament pools and South Africa fixtures).

Click to visit the tournament page at the FIH website

The tournament will feature 16 of the world’s finest U21 teams, and South Africa will face Argentina, Canada and China in the tournament’s Pool B round-robin opening phase, where the top two teams will make it through to the tournament quarter-finals.

The team’s knock-out stage aspirations are unlikely to be underestimated, with fierce opposition expected from the junior sides of world no. 2 Argentina, and no. 7 China.

The Argenina team includes four players who have already made their debut in the world number-two ranked senior squad, with Jimena Cedrés, Florencia Habif, Agustina Albertario and Roberta Werthein all having earned caps for Leoncitas.

South African will be banking on a healthy win over Canada, but the north-American athletes are well-known for total commitment in sporting quests, and they will likely view SA as fair game for an upset win.