It was 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico and Canada was one win away from the Olympic Games. Bu there was one team standing in their way: Argentina.
Despite a good start in the Pan American Games Final and the 1-0 lead at half time, the Canadian Men’s Field Hockey Team ended up giving up three second half goals to its long-time Pan Am rival, losing the game and not qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games.
On Saturday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the two teams meet again – not in a Pan Am final, although that still may be a possibility and is likely probable this July in Toronto – but rather in a World League Semifinal semifinal match with equally large implications.
“It’s so important to us to beat this group,” says Adam Froese, who was one of the heroes in Thursday’s quarterfinal shootout win over New Zealand. “We have to make we study and do everything we need to do to be prepared for this match.”
This International Hockey Federation competition serves as a qualifying tournament the World League Final, which will be played in India in November and for which the top three finishers get a ticket. It also – and more importantly – serves as an Olympic qualifier for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The top three finishers in Buenos Aires earn a spot in Rio, which means if Canada wins Saturday’s semifinal match against Argentina, their spot in Brazil in 2016 is guaranteed.
“We’ve set a bar for ourselves an expectation of what level we need to be at for these big games,” Froese adds. “I have full confidence that this group will be able to bounce back and prepare. It’s going to be a huge crowd and a great atmosphere again and we relish the opportunity.”
While the stakes are high and both teams likely want to clinch the Olympic spot on the first try, the loser of Saturday’s match (11:30am PT/2:30pm ET) will have a second chance to qualify in the third place match on Sunday, albeit against one of the world’s top three teams in the loser of the second semifinal between the Netherlands (World No.2) and Germany (World No.3).
Argentina and Canada will likely cross paths again at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto this summer, where the winner of the field hockey competition also earns an Olympic spot. The two teams have met in the Pan American Final ten straight times.
By the end of the summer, both teams would like to be qualified for the Olympics, and Saturday’s match guarantees one of them will be, making the road for the other that much longer. Fitting for two teams who have always given the other their best.
