Paris, France: Argentina women have won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, overcoming Belgium in a shoot-out after a pulsating match finished with the scores locked at 2-2.
For the second time in this competition, Argentina goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino sparkled in the one-on-ones, beaten just once in four Belgian attempts with Lara Casas, teenager Zoe Diaz de Armas and Sofia Cairo scoring the vital goals.
Remarkably, Cosentino only conceded one goal in the two shoot-outs here in Paris, keeping a clean sheet during Argentina’s quarter-final triumph over Germany on Monday (5 August).
The result gave Las Leonas their sixth Olympic medal in their last seven appearances, having claimed silver at Sydney 2000, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 as well as additional bronze medals at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. It was a cruel end to an exceptional tournament for Belgium, who miss out on the podium by finishing fourth.
“I am really happy because I think this team deserves everything”, said Argentina’s Agustina Albertarrio after the match. “We played eight games and we lost only once, against the best team, which is the Netherlands. I am really happy because this team gives everything, but I also want to congratulate Belgium because they have an amazing team. They have a lot of fight, it was really hard (playing against them). Now we want to celebrate, enjoy this moment with our families and the fans, who are amazing.”
The thousands of Argentine and Belgian fans packed into the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium were treated to an entertaining penultimate match of the competition. With Princess Elisabeth of Belgium watching on, Emma Puvrez put the Red Panthers ahead when Argentina failed to effectively clear a penalty corner, slapping home for a first quarter lead.
Argentina hit back with second quarter goals from the two Agustinas, Gorzelany roofing a penalty corner before Albertarrio’s open play tap-in made the score 2-1. However, Belgium restored parity less than a minute later, with Justine Rasir netting from close range.
Both goalkeepers made superb saves in the latter stages of the match, with Belgium’s Aisling D’Hooghe producing two stunning penalty corner blocks in the final seconds to force the shoot-out. However, it was to be Argentina’s day, with Cosentino once again grabbing the headlines.
Further information and statistics about the match can be found here.
The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place from Saturday 27 July to Friday 9 August. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey.
Olympic Games Paris 2024 – Hockey
9 August 2024 – Day 14
Women’s medal matches – Friday 9 August 2024 (all times CEST)
14:00 – Bronze: Argentina 2-2 Belgium (3-1 after shoot-out)
20:00 – Gold: Netherlands vs China
Final Standings
Women
Gold:
Silver:
Bronze: Argentina
4: Belgium
5: Australia
6: Germany
7: Spain
8: Great Britain
9: USA
10: Japan
11: South Africa
12: France
Men
Gold: The Netherlands
Silver: Germany
Bronze: India
4: Spain
5: Belgium
6: Australia
7: Great Britain
8: Argentina
9: South Africa
10: Ireland
11: France
12: New Zealand
Pool standings overviews
Women: click here.
Men: click here.
-FIH release
