FULL-TIME: France 1-0 China
France reach its first quarterfinal at the World Cup and will face Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, December 12.
Fourth Quarter
60' Another penalty corner for China. Du Talake takes the direct route this time, but Thieffry makes a good save. France breaks away at full pace and Meng Dihao makes a diving stick save and also gets a yellow card for it.
58' China gets a penalty corner! There is a deception by the Chinese after which they attempt a back pass, but nothing comes out of it.
57' China throws in the sink by sending in Du Talake as the 11th outfield player. Gaspard Baumgarten gets a chance to kill the game after he is put through, but the forward stumbles on the edge of the circle and China hits France on the counter.
56' Blaise Rogeau tries to turn his marker on the left side but a stick check by Ao Yang earns him a yellow card.
53' Victor Lockwoods shoots at the far post from outside the circle. Wang lets it go.
These are the quarterfinals standings so far. If France wins the match, it will face World Champion Australia
48' Hugo Genestet has a shot on the goal, but is saved once again by Wang Ciayu, who keeps China in the game by jumping to his left.
47' Charles Masson gets into the circle with a run on the right, but his cut back is dealt well by the Chinese defence.
Third Quarter
45' Etienne Tynevez goes close in the final minute, his tame push is easy for Wang Caiyu to parry away.
43' The frantic pace of the game four minutes ago, has been dialled down the lull of the first quarter with neither team pushing for a goal.
41' Timothee Clement tries to find an onrushing Francois Goyet on the edge of the circle, but a mistrap lets the ball run out of the play.
37' In the very next minute, China wins a penalty corner and Du Talake's dragflick hits Victor Charlet's knee and France wins a free hit.
36' GOAL FRANCE! Viktor Lockwood gets to the baseline with a blazing run down the left flank and cuts back to Maximilien Branicki in the centre. Branicki unleashes a fierce reverse stick at the far post which is deflected by Timothee Clement into the net.
33' China has its first shot on the goal after E Wenhui gets ahead of Viktor Lockwood and gets a deflection on a pass from the midfield. Arthur Thieffry is alert to palm it away.
32' France tries to create space on the left side but is unable to register a shot on the goal.
HALF-TIME: China 0-0 France
Second Quarter
30' France tries to switch flanks, but Charles Masson mistimes his run on the right flank and misses the pass.
28' Wang Caiyu makes another superb save to deny France an opener. The Chinese custodian has been the saviour for the World Cup debutant.
27' Guo Jin comes up with vital tackle to deflect Genestet's flick towards the far post.
21' CLOSE! E Wenhui misses from close range after Ao Suozhu controls a long ball over the French defence and makes his way into the circle showcasing 3D skills. Wenhui should have done better there.
17' France has another opening as Blaise Rogeau is put through by Tom Genestet, but the forward's attempt for a 360 degree turn does not work out and China is awarded a free hit.
First Quarter
15' China has a subdued start to the game by allowing France to dominate the possession. But the counter-attacking ability of the World No. 17 is something France has to watch out for.
England goalkeeper George Pinner's celebration after the win against New Zealand is our moment of the day
12' Another good chance created by France, but the Chinese custodian comes to team's rescue again, which helps China turn the defence into an attack.
9' So far, it has been France taking the initiative to attack. Gaspard Baumgarten has a shot at the goal after being put through by Victor Charlet, but Wang Caiyu rushes off his line to block it.
Dutch hockey legend Stephen Veen, winner of back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 1996, 2000 is at the Kalinga Stadium
4' Su Jun comes up with a superb tackle inside the penalty circle to prevent Victor Charlet from taking a shot.
2' Penalty corner for France! But Victor Charlet's dragflick through the centre is blocked thrice leading to four penalty corners in a row for Les Blues, but Wang Ciayu comes up with a save on the fourth attempt and China survives a scare.
1' China begins the proceedings for the second Crossover match of the #HWC2018 .
The players take to the pitch for the national anthems!
Match Trivia
- China has qualified for the first time in its history for the FIH Hockey World Cup.
- France is playing in its third World Cup after 1971 and 1990-- after finishing 7th on both occasions.
- Head-to-Head: Total: 3 | China: 2 | France: 1
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