Dominant start by Argentina
Argentina opened the scoring in the first minute with a shot by Joaquin Toscani that beat goalkeeper Mohit HS. In the sixth minute, Nicolas Della Torre doubled the advantage with a penalty corner. India responded quickly when Sukhjeet Singh scored in the tenth minute after a pass from Abhishek. Despite India’s attempts, the Argentine defense remained organised and the score was 1-2 at the end of the first half.
India struggles but fails
When the game resumed, Argentina extended the lead with a goal from Tomas Domene in the 33rd minute, beating a disorganised Indian defence and giving the striker his seventh goal of the tournament, moving ahead of Harmanpreet Singh, who had six. India earned several penalty-corner opportunities but failed to convert them. Harmanpreet had chances, but his drag-flicks were either blocked or missed.
Late rally too little
Argentina capitalised on another defensive error when Domene converted a penalty stroke in the 53rd minute, taking the score to 4-1. Lucas Toscani added Argentina’s fifth goal with a superb reverse hit in the 53rd minute. India responded in the final minutes, with Sukhjeet scoring his second goal in the 58th minute and Hardik Singh converting a penalty stroke a minute later. Despite the comeback, Argentina maintained the lead and won 5-3.
The result leaves India without points after three group-stage matches, while the Netherlands have already secured a spot in the quarter-finals. Argentina continues to dominate India after beating them 8-0 and 4-2 in the FIH Pro League earlier this year. India will now drop into the classification matches and play for seventh or eighth place.
