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Spain made it to the quarterfinals of the ongoing FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Odisha after it edged past Malaysia 4-3 on penalties after playing a stalemate that ended on 2-2 on Sunday, setting up a clash with three-time champions Australia in the final eight.
The first quarter of the match saw Spain earning two penalty corners in the first and 11th minutes. But Marc Miralles failed to convert either of them into goals. Malaysia tried to attack a bit, but Spain enjoyed the majority of possession. The first quarter went goalless. In the second quarter, Malaysia tried to attack once again, trying to infiltrate Spain's penalty circle but the latter guarded their circle like a fortress. At the end of this quarter and the first half of the match, the scoreline did not have any goals. The third quarter saw Faizal Saari making the best use of the lack of defence from Spain, handing his side a lead in the 34th minute. Spain earned a PC in the 40th minute and Miralles finally converted it to make things even between both the sides with a flick that went into the right hand side of the goal. The very next minute, a strike from Xavier Gispert sent Spain into the lead in the match for the very first time. The scoreline read 2-1 in favour of Spain at the end of the third quarter. Spain had put Malaysia under pressure with two quick goals. But in the 48th minute, Shello Silverius came through with an equaliser and the scoreline was 2-2 again. Malaysia's Azuan Hasan got a green card in the 55th minute and he was off the field for two minutes. Spain earned a PC in the 58th minute, but missed it again. Marc was out for two minutes after receiving a green card. As the match was tied at 2-2 at the end of full time, the match headed to the penalty shootout. Malaysia got a 1-0 lead in the penalty shootout with Firhan Ashari converting a stroke for his side. But Spain's Alvaro Iglesias failed to convert it. Saari made it 2-0 for Malaysia but Miralles redeemed Spain with a strike that made the scoreline 1-2. Marhan Jalil was unsuccessful for Malaysia in the third penalty. A strike from Jordi Bonastre made it 2-2 for both the sides. Shahmie Irfan Suhaimi scored in the fourth penalty for Malaysia to restore the lead. But a goal from Gispert made the scoreline 3-3. Shello and Firhan missed their strokes for Malaysia, but Miralles converted the final penalty for Spain to give his side a 4-3 win. (ANI)
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