Harpal Singh Bedi / Bhubaneswar
Luck deserted Pakistan at crucial moments as they went down 3-4 to Argentina and crashed out of contention of the Junior Hockey World Cup at Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.
The win enabled Argentina to book their berth in the last eight from Pool D. Germany drubbed Egypt 11-0 to top this pool
Later in the last league match, Spain thrashed South Korea 9-0 to finish second with six points behind the Netherlands, who thrashed the United States 14-0 in Pool C
Argentina and Spain completed the quarter-finals lineup of the tournament
Former champion Pakistan played their best game in the tournament again Argentina . They bounced back twice from a goal deficit to level scores but the Latin American side capitalized on the chances that came their way to win 4-3
Pakistan and Argentina needed to win their last group match after losing to Germany in their earlier matches. Argentina took the lead in the 10th minute through Bautista Capurro. Pakistan drew parity minutes into the second quarter with skipper Abdul Rana converting a penalty corner.
Argentina regained the lead within three minutes through Ignacio Nardolillo but the Green Shirts again leveled through Rizwan Ali who converted another penalty corner in the 28th minute.
Argentina then scored twice within 12 minutes through Francisco Ruiz and Ignacio Ibarra to make it 4-2 . Pakistan pulled one goal back when Aqeel Ahmed scored off a penalty corner. They put up pressure in the last minutes of the match but failed to find the equalizer.
Spain dominated Korea with brothers Pepe and Pau Cunill and Abajo Ignacio scoring a brace each. Fortuno Guillermo, Eduard de Ignacio-Simo and Rafael Vilallonga chipped in with a goal each to complete the tally
In the quarterfinals slated for 1 December; Belgium will take on India, Germany will face Spain, France will play against Malaysia and the Netherlands will be pitted against Argentina.