KUALA LUMPUR: Spain may not be seen in the same light as Europe's hockey powerhouses like Germany and the Netherlands.
But make no mistake about Spain. The Red Sticks can stick it to anyone, and their statistics are scary.
Look at this. Spain scored the most number of goals, 23, in four Junior World Cup matches, and conceded only five at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
They slammed in an average of five goals in each match.
They thrashed Canada 7-0, upstaged two-time champions India 4-1, outplayed South Korea 8-2, and in the quarter-finals, came back from a goal down to pummel Pakistan 4-2.
And Spain loom ominously against France in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Spain had played France three times in the JWC, winning once and losing twice. But in their last meeting, at the 2014 European Junior Championships in Waterloo, Belgium, Spain won big, 5-1.
Spain coach Oriol Puig Torras said: "We are playing exceptionally well as a team and my players are in top form.
"It will be a tough match against France as they are playing really well. But I know my players will rise to the occasion."
France coach Matthias Dierckens said: "My players have been playing together as a team for the last few years and they understand each other's game well.
"We have 10 players who played in the last JWC in 2021 and four of them featured in the senior World Cup in Bhubaneswar in January."
Both the nations have never won the JWC, and Spain's best outing was finishing third in Rotterdam in 2005 while France were runners-up in New Delhi in 2013.
