Argentina women’s hockey team achieved a miracle on Saturday as they beat world No. 1 and three-time defending champions Netherlands in the World Cup final at Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen to lift the title for the third time.Playing in front of a raucous crowd, the South Americans were crowned world champions after winning 3-1 in a shoot-out, following a 1-1 draw at the end of 60 minutes. Goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino was the star, producing a string of superb saves — during the shoot-out as well as in regulation time — to help Argentina pull off the upset.Cosentino was duly named Player of the Match and, speaking after the game, could not have been prouder of her teammates and what they had achieved.After all, this was the first time since 2010 that the Dutch women lost a World Cup final. And 16 years ago, it was Argentina who had beaten them to claim the title for the second time — their first coming in 2002, also by defeating Netherlands.On Saturday, however, it seemed for a long time that Argentina would not be able to repeat that feat. They had lost the 2022 final too, and it looked like history was going to repeat itself as Netherlands took the lead in the 30th minute through Yibbi Jansen from a penalty corner and continued to hold on to their advantage well into the final quarter.But Argentina simply refused to give up.They kept pushing the Dutch back and won numerous PCs. The Dutch defence held firm for much of the contest, but eventually Argentina found a way through in the 54th minute.Following their seventh penalty corner, a mistrap saw Agustina Gorzelany fire the ball towards goal. A Dutch defender managed to get a stick to it, but the ball fell to Maria Granatto, who made no mistake from the left of the D, finding the back of the net to bring Argentina level with six minutes remaining.The equaliser appeared to shake the Dutch, who completely lost their composure in the shoot-out.Pien Sanders, Felice Albers and Freeke Moes all failed to convert their attempts as Cosentino produced a sensational performance in goal. For Argentina, Zoe Diaz’s effort was ruled out for backstick, but Victoria Granatto, Brisa Bruggesser and Sofia Cairo all found the net to seal a 3-1 victory.Earlier, the final was a cagey affair, with neither side creating too many clear-cut opportunities. Late in the first quarter, Pien Dicke had a couple of chances, but Cosentino stood firm to keep the Dutch at bay.Jansen eventually gave the Dutch the lead late in the second quarter, but they were unable to impose the kind of control they are renowned for.Argentina, meanwhile, kept believing and pushing until they finally found a way back into the contest. And when the shoot-out arrived, Cosentino produced the defining moments to help Argentina complete a stunning victory and lift their third World Cup title.Meanwhile, in the other match of the day, Belgium beat Australia 1-0 to finish in third place.
