December 1, 2025
South Africa produced a statement performance in their final Pool A match, beating Canada 9–1 in Tamil Nadu to record their biggest Junior World Cup victory since a 9–0 triumph over Mexico back in 2005. The result gives the African champions a faint but very real chance of finishing as one of the two best second-placed teams, the final pathway into the quarter-finals.
With heavy rain pouring down, South Africa knew the equation was simple: win big, or risk slipping into the middle-eight playoff bracket. They started with clear intent and immediately took control of the game. Jaydon Brooker opened his tournament account with a superb finish, and less than a minute later he repeated the strike, almost identical in execution, slightly lower, but equally clinical, to make it 2–0.
A brief lapse allowed Canada back into the match when Robin Thind was given far too much space to finish calmly, cutting the deficit to 2–1 by the end of the first quarter and offering the only moment of frustration in an otherwise dominant opening spell.
South Africa reset quickly and reasserted their superiority. Midway through the second quarter Ross Montgomery pounced on a turnover and found Brett Horn, who made no mistake this time with a composed finish for 3–1. Moments later Sian Maart reacted fastest to a rebound and smashed home the fourth, sending South Africa into halftime 4–1 ahead and in complete control.
Brooker completed his hat-trick early in the third quarter, this time with a flowing field goal he initiated himself, playing a delightful one-two before finishing clinically on the reverse. Litha Kraai’s sharp reactions created the next opportunity, allowing Dan Neuhoff to tuck home South Africa’s sixth before the close of the third quarter.
Carlon Mentoor then produced the goal of the match, unleashing a thunderous reverse-stick shot into the roof of the net to make it 7–1. Brooker converted a penalty stroke, his fourth of the game, before Ross Montgomery capped off the scoring, tapping home after excellent work from Brett Horn to round out a commanding 9–1 win.
South Africa now await the final standings across the pools to determine whether the emphatic victory is enough to place them among the top two runners-up, and secure a coveted quarter-final spot, or whether they will compete in the middle-eight classification phase.
Source: SAHockey.co.za
