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Hockey: England seek morale boosting win over Argentina after quarter-final defeat

Image: England: Endured frustration in the quarter-finals

England will attempt to ease their Champions Trophy pain by settling an old score against Argentina.

After securing top spot in Pool A, England’s hopes of further progress in the tournament were ended by a frustrating 2-0 quarter-final defeat against Germany on Thursday.

Moritz Furste opened the scoring for Germany in the second quarter and England spurned chances to equalise before Christopher Ruhr sealed victory for the Olympic gold medallists in the dying stages.

This defeats means Bobby Crutchley's side must compete in the fifth to eighth classification matches, but there is more than pride at stake in another meeting with opponents Argentina.

In June, England suffered a controversial World Cup defeat to the South Americans in the bronze medal play-off, with Argentina fielding 12 players for more than two minutes in the 2-0 victory.

The result was allowed to stand, despite English protests, and they will be keen to exact a form of revenge in India.

Speaking on Thursday, head coach Crutchley said: “We now need to regroup and with a rest day tomorrow we can recover and recharge our batteries and hopefully be back up to full strength for Saturday’s game against Argentina where we will be looking to reverse the scoreline from our defeat back in June at the World Cup.

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“They are a side who are always strong on the counter attack and they defend with numbers behind the ball.”

David Condon and Chris Griffiths missed the Germany defeat due to sickness and it remains to be seen if they will recover in time to face Argentina.

You can watch Saturday's Champions Trophy action on the red button on Sky Sports 3, starting at 8.15am. 

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