Hockey World Cup 2018: Argentina vs New Zealand - 5 Talking Points

#1 Argentina win without Peillat scoring

Argentina won comfortably as Mazzilli and Vila found their scoring touch

The South Americans have made it big on the world stage largely due to the efforts of their one-man goal machine.

Gonzalo Peillat, the highest scorer at the Rio Olympics, and the 2014 World Cup has been largely responsible for his side scaling the summit in the world of hockey, and it is not often that his side wins with a three-goal margin without any contribution from his end.

Peillat did contribute at the back end with some superb defending and helped Lucas Martinez score by flipping in a deft touch to Ibarra off a PC, but failed to get the direct flicks past Richard Joyce in the New Zealand goal.

It is not Peillat but teammate Agustin Mazzilli who has the highest number of goals for the Argentinians at Bhubaneswar after scoring a brace in their opener, and the opening goal against the Black Sticks.

Lucas Vila too got his name on to the scoresheet with a superb strike from the edge of the circle which augurs well for the Olympic champions ahead of the crucial knockouts.

What is not so rosy for the South Americans is that they seem to be struggling a wee-bit with their direct PC conversions, but that may well change as the competition progresses.

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