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Pakistan and France joined New Zealand in the semi-finals of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 after playing out a 11-goal thriller.
Pool B saw Les Bleus finish first, followed by Pakistan. Malaysia finished third after defeating Canada in the first game of the day.
Pakistan secured a place in the semi-final on the basis of better goal margin as they finished second on the points table in Pool-B, despite losing their final pool match to France by a narrow margin of 6-5 last night.
France topped Pool B with a third straight win, edging out Pakistan 5-6 in a thrilling match. The Olympic hosts started aggressively, ready to exploit Pakistan’s defensive weaknesses. Victor Charlet broke the deadlock in the seventh minute. Eliot Curty set up Blaise Rogeau for a powerful shot that bounced off the bar for their second goal just before the end of the first quarter.
With no coordination in Pakistan’s defense, Gaspard Baumgarten made it 0-3 with seven minutes remaining in the first half. Two minutes later, Charlet scored his second goal through another penalty corner.
Pakistan will now face New Zealand in the semi-final on Saturday.
