Xavier Gaspard (right) of France tries to stop a Spain player in their Junior World Cup semi-final on Dec 14.
KUALA LUMPUR: France reached their second Junior World Cup final after beating Spain 3-1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Thursday (Dec 14).
In the semi-final clash, Brieuc Delemazure gave France the lead in the second minute through a penalty corner conversion but Aleix Bozal kept Spain in the match by scoring a field goal in the 15th minute.
Second-half field goals from Stanislas Branicki (35th) and Louis Haertelmeyer (42nd) ensured France were back in the final again since finishing runners-up in the 2013 edition in New Delhi.
France, who lost 2-5 to Germany in 2013, will meet the same European rivals in the final on Saturday (Dec 16).
six-time champions Germany defeated India 4-1 in an earlier semi-final match where Ben Hasbach scored a field goal in the eighth minute and a penalty corner in the 30th minute to give the European giants a lift.
Paul Glander’s penalty corner in the 41st minute and Florian Sperling’s field goal in the 58th minute handed Germany a resounding victory.
India, who failed to convert 13 penalty corners, scored their only goal through Sudeep Chirmako in a field goal attempt in the 11th minute.
