FIH Men’s Junior World Cup: Austria progresses via shootout again, Amirul Islam continues to shine

Austria and Bangladesh won their respective crossover matches at the FIH Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup 2025 at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium on Saturday to set up a 17th-place playoff clash. The winner of that game, set to take place on Monday, will receive the new Challenger Trophy, constituted by FIH president Tayyab Ikram.

Austria had to toil hard under the afternoon sun against the lower-ranked China, completing an unlikely comeback to draw the game before progressing via a shootout for the second game running. After two goalless quarters of play, which saw China dominate, the team opened the scoring after a defensive lapse just seconds into the third quarter. Captain Mateusz Nyckowiak failed to clear a cut back from the right, instead sending it straight into the path of Jingran Sun, who slotted it past the keeper. 

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It seemed China would maintain the lead till the end and come up trumps as Austria failed to create enough to trouble the opponent. Both sides were also guilty of failing to capitalise on Penalty Corner (PC) opportunities, with neither team scoring from eight PCs combined. The equaliser came late in the final period when miscommunication between defender Moda Ne and the goalkeeper allowed Benjamin Kelner to bundle in a harmless ball trickled into the final third.

Austria keeper Lorenz Breitenecker was the hero of the shootout, keeping out two of China’s four shots after Pengfei Li had lobbed his backhanded attempt over the bar in the first attempt. The European team celebrated a touch too early when its fourth attempt went in before Adrian Fink ensured they didn’t end up with egg on their faces, sealing the 3-1 result on the final take.

Bangladesh edges Korea

A hat-trick of set-piece conversions from tournament goal leader Amirul Islam helped Bangladesh pip South Korea 5-3 in a rain-soaked finish. 

Minhyeok Lee opened the scoring for the 13th-ranked Korea side, turning twice inside the circle to find space before lofting the ball and bouncing it over the goalkeeper. A penalty stroke from the No. 30 gave Korea a two-goal cushion. But two PCs in three minutes brought Bangladesh back level before Amirul converted a Penalty Stroke to put his team ahead. 

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The two sides traded a goal each in the fourth quarter to set up a grandstand finish. South Korea removed its keeper in an effort to find that elusive equaliser, but it was Bangladesh that pounced on the vacant goal to score again through Rakibul Hasan. 

Canada, Egypt post maiden wins

Canada earned its first win of the ongoing tournament, beating Namibia 3-1 in the crossovers for 21st-24th place. Leighton de Souza scored a brace before Robin Thind sealed the victory with a goal in the final minute after a tight contest. Captain John-Paul Britz pulled a goal back after providing the finishing touches to a smartly taken PC variation in the 55th minute. The African side couldn’t press on to find an equaliser and eventually conceded the clincher with just seconds left. 

There was a first victory in the competition for Egypt, too. The 15th-ranked junior team beat Oman 8-2 to set up a clash with Canada for 21st place. Despite the circle dominance, Egypt relied on PC goals to get on the scoresheet in the first quarter. The field goals started trickling in once the game opened up towards the end of the second quarter, allowing Abdelrahman Kasem and Mohamed Ghanem each to bag a couple. 

Oman also had its slice of history when captain Alhussin Al Hasni scored its first Junior World Cup goal, rifling a PC into the roof of the net. He added one more to his tally late in the game with another finish off the set-piece. Oman will take on Namibia on Monday to avoid the ignominy of finishing last in the rankings. 

Published on Dec 06, 2025