It was with suffering. For these Leonit seems there is no other way. And it was again due to Australian penalties and with a huge China Cosentinowho cut short (almost) everything and gave Argentina his third medal in these Olympics. But it was also thanks to those penalties that they scored Lara Casas y Zoe Diaz (two of the smallest of the squad whose pulse did not tremble in the face of such responsibility) and also Sofia Cairowho had the cool head to capitalize on the last one. And it was also thanks to the push of Rocío Sánchez Moccia, María José Granatto and of all the players, who in a stuck game, in which things did not work out, never stopped searching and put their heart and effort into it when hockey did not appear.
The women’s field hockey team took bronze at Paris 2024 by defeating Belgium 3-1 on penalties in those definitions that make the heart stopafter equalizing 2 to 2 in regulation time.
The women’s field hockey team won its sixth Olympic medal – the third of that color – and fulfilled the objective with which it had come to the event in the French capital. Because perhaps that gold that was the most desired prize escaped, but a medal is a medal and the one they conquered this Friday on a cloudy afternoon once again confirmed the validity of a team that has been in the elite for more than two decades.
The Argentines were visitors again at the Yves-du-Manoir stadium, where the Belgian fans made themselves felt. And with the constant push coming down from the stands, the European team was encouraged to stand as equals against the Lionesses who, due to history and quality of players, are superior. That’s why the first half was very fought and difficult, and the Argentines paid dearly for some moments of lack of concentration and the mistakes they made with the ball dominated, when they wanted to go forward.
The match started with Belgium pressing higher and with more possession of the ball, but without creating danger, and with Argentina waiting patiently and trying to get ahead on the field.
And in that back and forth, the European team took advantage of a moment of doubt on the part of their rivals in defense (Agostina Alonso was left asking for a foul that they did not give her and the entire team lost concentration) and got the first penalty of the game and another immediately after . In the second, after the dragging of Stephanie Vanden Borre, Emma Puvrez He pushed the ball from the right side of China Cosentino, who failed to cover it, and scored 1-0 for those in red, black and yellow shirts.
The blow disconcerted the Lionesses, who had a few minutes in which there were several marking errors and ball losses that made the fans suffer. Already Fernando Ferrarathe Argentine coach, who did not stop giving instructions from the side of the field. But the Argentines settled back in and with just under two minutes left in the quarter, they got the first goal. A great save by goalkeeper D’Hooghe prevented Agustin Gorzelan would achieve equality.
At half-time, after the close of the first quarter, the albicelestes were seen talking a lot and before the start of the second, they gathered in a circle and gave each other strength. From a distance you could see that all the heads were moving up and down, as if to say “Yes, we can turn it around”.
Belgium, the big surprise of the Olympic tournament (it is only playing its second Games and was going for its first medal), did not ease the pressure. Every time a Lioness won the ball, she had three or four rivals on top of her. And that made the current Olympic runners-up feel very uncomfortable, as they continued making mistakes and were slow to react when possession was stolen from them.
The Argentines were the same, with more force than order and with some individualities, and they pushed to reach the rival goal. And so the shorts began to arrive. After five minutes, Gorzelany was unable to capitalize one due to another save by the Belgian goalkeeper. And the second one, which they got after a video ref request, he threw it too wide. But in the third, at 7 minutes, he did not forgive: He sent the ball to the upper left corner and scored 1-1.
The defender celebrated it with enthusiasm, who after the fall against Netherlands In the semifinals he had broken down in front of the television cameras and had apologized to all the fans. Here, he had his revenge.
The tie woke up the Albiceleste public, which was quite quiet. A “Oooohh, Argentina come on, lay eggs, we won” It began to be heard from all corners of the stadium. and a climate more typical of a medal match began to build..
The goal was also an injection of energy for the Albiceleste players. Faster in reaction and more mobile, and hand in hand with a Rochi Sánchez Moccia who began to show his magic with the stick, they went to look for the second, which arrived after 12 minutes. María José Granatto he fought over the ball on a play near the goal line, Agustina Albertario She took the rebound from the bottom of the goalposts and made it 2-1, which remained despite the Europeans’ request for a review.
The joy did not last long, because in the next play the Belgians again found the Argentines in disarray behind and generated a new penalty corner. Justine Rasir He found the ball after the drag and the score was 2-2 again.
At that point, the game did not lack emotions. With some friction and a lot of changes of possession, he kept the spectators constantly jumping out of their seats, infected by the energy that came out of the playing field. And Ferrara constantly clutching his head.
The sky was quite covered with black clouds when the second half started, in which the story didn’t change much. Belgium, with nothing to lose, because he had already exceeded the expectations with which he came to Paris, he played looser and got into the Argentine semicircle quite easily when he took the ball. And to the Lionesses, perhaps with that internal pressure Wanting to say goodbye to the Games from above the podium, everything cost them more, but they did not give up. A couple of dangerous plays, which did not reach a goal on each side, and the scoreboard that did not move, to bring the bronze medal to the last 15 minutes.
“Olé, olé, olé, olé, olé, olé, olá… soooo Argentinian, it’s a feeling, I can’t stop”the people sang when Majo Granatto He dominated the ball and almost got into the semicircle in the first minute of the third quarter. The Lionesses came out more determined on the field. But between the inaccuracies due to the rush to find the goal and the constant rival pressure, it was difficult for them to put together plays and bother the Belgian goalkeeper.
The Europeans bet on the counterattack and left more than one with their hearts in their mouths several times, because every time they stole the ball, they always found a forward to pass it to them and the light blue and white defense was unarmed. Luckily, the reflections of Cosentino and the poor aim of the reds saved the Argentine goal more than once.
The problem was that the Lionesses did not have confidence when moving the ball and seemed disconnected. Then the runs Sofia Cairo to the bottom, the plays that Granatto and Sánchez Moccia tried or the entrances to the semicircle of Julieta Jankunas or Albertario always ended in nothing. And the goal didn’t come.
It was so much Argentina, that with just seconds on the clock they had two consecutive penalty corners to seal the story. But the goal did not come. The buzzer sounded and again they suffered on penalties, like against Germany in the quarterfinals.
And like against Germany in the quarterfinals, China became huge and saved three of the four penalties that were thrown at them. Casas, Díaz and Cairo added their own. And Las Leonas stood on the podium once again and added one more medal to their rich Olympic history.