Argentina crush Pakistan in FIH Pro League

Pakistan’s struggles in the FIH Pro League continued on Tuesday as the men’s hockey team slumped to a comprehensive 5–1 defeat against Argentina at the Santiago del Estero Hockey Club, extending their winless run in the elite competition.
The hosts delivered a dominant all-round performance, combining ruthless penalty-corner efficiency with incisive aerial passing to tighten their grip at the top of the Pro League standings. The victory lifted Argentina to 11 points, while Pakistan remained rooted to the bottom after suffering a fourth successive defeat in their debut campaign.
Argentina seized control from the opening exchanges and drew first blood through a penalty corner. Nicolas Della Torre’s powerful drag flick took a slight deflection off defender Muhammad Abdullah, wrong-footing goalkeeper Muneeb Ur-Rehman and giving Los Leones an early advantage.
The pressure continued as Argentina dictated the tempo in midfield and repeatedly exploited gaps behind Pakistan’s defensive line with long aerial balls. One such pass found Joaquin Toscani in space, and after a fine first touch, he lifted a bouncing delivery into the circle, where Bautista Capurro showed sharp instincts to deflect the ball past the goalkeeper for a 2–0 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Capurro struck again in the second quarter as Argentina piled on the pressure. Following a failed clearance by Pakistan, Maico Casella kept the move alive and slid a perfectly weighted pass across the face of goal, allowing Capurro to tap in from close range to make it 3–0.
Pakistan showed brief signs of resistance after the interval when Waheed Ashraf Rana produced a moment of individual brilliance. Driving purposefully into the circle, he unleashed a powerful high shot to pull one back and offer a glimmer of hope.
However, Argentina responded almost immediately to extinguish any comeback ambitions. Tadeo Marcucci released Tomas Domene with a precise through ball, and although Domene’s initial backhand effort was saved, Tobias Martins reacted quickest to bury the rebound. Domene then capped an impressive performance by earning and converting a penalty corner with a low drag flick to extend the lead to 5–1.
The final quarter passed without further goals, with Argentina comfortably seeing out the contest to secure a convincing three points. Domene was later named Player of the Match for the second game in succession.
The defeat leaves Pakistan languishing in ninth place on the table, having conceded 20 goals while scoring only eight, resulting in a concerning goal difference of minus 12. Their campaign so far includes a 5–2 loss to defending champions the Netherlands, a narrow 3–2 defeat to Argentina, and a 7–3 reverse in a high-scoring rematch against the Dutch.
Pakistan will now shift focus to the Australia leg of the Pro League in Hobart in February, where they face the hosts on February 10 and 13, followed by challenging fixtures against Germany on February 11 and 14.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneSports DeskRead More