Pakistan and Argentina will clash for fifth place in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on Saturday after contrasting victories here today. The Pakistanis had to face a penalty shootout against China before winning. Both teams were tied at 2-2 after regulation time and extra time failed to produce a winner.
In the shootout Pakistan won 3-1. During regulation time Pakistan had taken a 2-0 lead in the first half through two goals from Imran Mohamed in the 10th and 29th minutes. But the Chinese came back strongly to draw level in the second half with strikes from Song Yi and Liu Xian Tang in the 54th and 63rd minutes.
Earlier, Argentina qualified for the fifth and sixth place play-off tomorrow after a convincing 3-0 win over Canada. Argentina led 2-0 at half-time. Agustin Esteban opened the scoring in the ninth minute from close range after breaking through the middle. Juan Ignacio then added the second with a penalty corner goal in the 33rd minute.
The Canadians were reduced to defending their goal in numbers and goalkeeper Michael Mahood was called on time and again to foil the Argentine attacks. Four minutes from the end Pedro Ibarra sealed victory with another penalty corner goal and the Argentines have a good chance of securing fifth place tomorrow.
Argentine coach Sergio Vigil said he was happy that the players were able to put aside their defeat by India and play their normal game. "Our aim is to improve each time we play and in that sense I'm happy with the performance. Now we will aim for a high finish in the tournament. This tournament has given as a very good chance to expose our players and also to learn more about our opponents," he added.
The matches to decide fifth to eighth placings take place on Saturday morning. On Friday the first semi-final will see Australia meeting South Korea in a clash of two former champions. Hosts Malaysia will be aiming for their second ever final place when they play India in the second semi-final.