BHUBANESWAR:
Lucas Vila
had a memorable match against England on Thursday. It was his 200th game for Argentina and he scored their opening goal, setting them towards a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals and they will now face host India for a place in the final on Friday.
READ ALSO: Argentina set up semi-final date with India He expressed happiness with his and team's performance revealing the team played differently to how they fared in the league stage where they ended winless - losing twice and drawing once. "I am really happy. It was a good day for the team too. We will enjoy this moment for a few hours and then we have to play India [on Friday]," he said.
READ ALSO - 400 not out: Middleton, the old man of England hockeyVila said Argentina changed their strategy for the knockouts and predicted that the team that has its defence sorted will win the first semi-final. "I see it as two different tournaments. The group phase is different to the quarter-finals. We played quite differently today. We were quite smart and sharp physically. Tomorrow is going to be tough. Both teams are really strong. It will be a good game. The team which defends well will enter the final," he said.
Recalling the moment when Argentina beat Belgium to win gold at the
Rio Olympics last year, Vila said, "It was amazing. I can recall the feelings when we won it. It was everything we wanted as a kid, we wanted to shout and scream a lot. It was a dream come true."
He said the current phase of
Argentine hockey
is the best in their history and the team is proud of that. "If you look at the results, they speak for themselves. In Beijing (Olympics), we lost the qualification to make the cut for Olympics but in 2016, we became the champions. It has been a tough road. We have moved a step forward everyday. This is the best moment for us in our history. We are proud of that," he said.