As Germany win an incredible 8th Hockey Junior World Cup title, another goalkeeping hero emerges in Jasper Ditzer

Spain can consider themselves unlucky – they had their fair share of luck in getting here in the first place – because on the balance of play, they were perhaps the better team with more possession of the ball. Both coaches said as much after the match.

But Germany are serial winners for a reason. They just know how to get the job done… and they had a quality goalkeeper to see them through the tough situations. In Jean-Paul Danneberg, still only 23, they have arguably the best young goalkeeper in the world playing for the senior team. And on Wednesday, Ditzer – who also won the Indoor World Cup earlier this year – walked away with the goalkeeper of the tournament award at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium.

“We have really a couple of very talented goalkeepers. I think we don’t have to worry about your goalkeeping for the next 10 years, maybe 20,” German coach Mirko Stenzel had told The Indian Express after Ditzer emerged as the hero against France in the quarterfinal. He reiterated it after the final as Ditzer came up with some crucial saves in the regulation 60 minutes, and one big block in the shootout.

“We are indeed lucky. He’s a very good guy and an excellent goalkeeper. Jasper did a fantastic job once again, he’s just very confident. He has good technique. He has a lot of different things to combine in order to analyse opponents, not only in the shootout. He just takes every goal personally, and that’s a good quality for a goalkeeper,” Stenzel quipped.

Costly misses

On the balance of play, Spain would have regretted going into half time trailing 0-1. The first-time finalists came flying out of the blocks and had five penalty corners in the first quarter, four of those in one sequence, but Germany’s defence did its job to thwart the dangerous Bruno Avila. Spain would end up ruing those missed opportunities to put some scoreboard pressure on Germany.

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With four minutes to go in the half, Germany took the lead. Justus Warweg did superbly to turn inside the circle to evade a defender and hit a reverse on goal for the opener.

Spain hit back in the third quarter. A reverse-pass through a crowded defence fell kindly for Nicolas Mustaros, who had a simple tap in.

From there on, it was a case of neither team wanting to make the mistake that cost them the title as the shootout felt almost inevitable. But Spain, despite taking the lead in the tiebreaker, couldn’t sustain it.

One of the goals of the shootout was scored by German co-captain Ben Hasbach, who shaped to take an early shot as soon as he dribbled into the circle, then slowed down, before cheekily lobbing the ‘keeper with a little dink and scoring into an empty net. The leading goalscorer at the Indoor World Cup earlier this year, showed how skills from that format can transfer into outdoor field hockey.

In the end, Ditzer did not quite have to make an actual save – he actually fell on his back while backtracking – as Andres Medina’s effort went wide. His teammates, however, made sure he was the centre of the pile-up as the powerhouses celebrated title No 8.