Netherlands 0 New Zealand 0

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22: Former champions Pakistan were denied a place in the semi-finals of the 15th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia when they were beaten 2-0 by Argentina.

The Pakistanis, ranked fifth in the world, were piped to the semis by the Netherlands on goal difference.

Both teams had four points but the Pakistanis had a minus one goal difference compared to the Netherlands’ plus two.

New Zealand, who played to a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands in a later match, topped Group B and will now meet Australia in the semi-finals on Saturday.

The other semis-final will see India versus the Netherlands.

It was a big blow for the Pakistanis who had several good scoring chances against the Argentines in the first half but failed to carry them off.

Pakistan coach Asif Bajwa was unable to explain their defeat.

“I really cannot say why but we certainly failed to make use of the chances that came our way. We did play well in patches but I cannot say that we were the better side.

“I have to say that the Argentines played extremely well and the two goals came at a good time for them. But in some respect the match was very beneficial as it was a good lesson for my players,” he said

Pakistan could have wrapped up the game in the first half but failed to score from numerous chances with their forwards woefully off target.

Rehan Butt was the main culprit as he missed no less than three sitters.

The Argentines managed to absorb the pressure and in the second half created two good chances to score their goals.

The first came in the 48th minute off their second penalty corner. Matias Villa's flick was well deflected into goal by Juan Saldino.

Then a minute later Saldino was again on target when he managed to slot home from close range after a quick counter attack.

Argentina's coach Sergio Virgil was happy they managed to win one match in the preliminary round.

“We showed improvement in each match but it would be demoralising if we had not won a match. This is timely and I think the players will be boosted by it,”he said.

The Pakistanis were left waiting for the result of the next match between the Netherlands and New Zealand to know if they can make the grade for the semi-finals.

That match later ended in a scoreless draw and the Pakistanis were bundled out to vie for fifth place while both the Kiwis and the Dutch took the two berths available from the group.

The Argentines will clash with Malaysia for seventh place on Saturday while the Pakistanis and Koreans will vie for fifth place.—AFP