FIP WORLD POLO

Spain emerged victorious from a thrilling overtime battle in the nal of the 2022 XII FIP World Polo Championship, reports Alex Webbe

For the rst time, the National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida, hosted the XII FIP World Polo Championship (29 October6 November 2022) and it proved a huge success. The competition welcomed eight teams from across the world – Argentina, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, Uruguay, and the home team, the USA –to compete for international polo glory.

The USA team (Lucas and Nico Escobar, Agustin Arellano and Justin Klentner) made a blistering start, recording a comfortable 9-4 win over Australia, while Spain (Nicolas Alvarez, Luis Domecq, Pelayo Berazadi and Nicolas Ruiz Guinazu) edged Pakistan, 9-7.5 in the opening round of play.

In the second round action, Spain exed their muscles, routing Mexico 11-4.5, a solid effort that would give them a 2-0 record and secure them a spot in the tournament semi- nals. A talented USA quartet, however, struggled with Italy before suffering a 6-4 loss that put the pressure on the host team at 1-1.

‘I really think that loss was the best thing that could have happened to us,’ said USA team coach and former 9-goaler Julio

Arellano. ‘We didn’t play well and the loss put us in a position where we had to win our next game to stay alive.’

Spain knew they had already made the semi- nals, despite a 6-3.5 loss to Argentina in their third match.

‘We knew that we had to beat Pakistan and Mexico,’ said Spain’s coach, Benjamin Araya, the former Argentine 10-goaler. ‘The loss to Argentina actually gave us strength. After losing to them by only a couple of goals, I knew that we had a good chance in the semi- nals. Playing Uruguay or the USA made no difference. The players and the horses were ready.’

The USA notched their second win of the competition by sneaking past pre-tournament favourites, Uruguay, 7.5-7. The victory sent the USA into the seminals against Argentina, while Spain would be battling Uruguay in the other semi.

There was no shortage of drama in the semi- nals, with Spain downing Uruguay, and Team USA replacing Klentner with 19-year-old Hope Arellano – the rst woman ever to play in the nal of the World Championship – to upset previously undefeated Argentina, 9-8 in overtime.

In the nal, Spain took little time to make their mark, with USA fouling a charging Berazadi in the goalmouth for a Penalty 1 and a 1-0 lead for Spain. Four minutes later, Nicolas Ruiz Guinazu scored on a pass from Berazadi, and Spain led, 2-0. Hope Arellano closed out the scoring in the opening chukka with a goal from the eld to trail Spain 2-1.

The second period belonged to Team USA with Nico Escobar scoring on a penalty shot at the 7:00 mark to level the score at 2-2. Minutes later, Nico Escobar took the ball from the throw-in and raced down the eld to give Team USA their rst lead of the game, 3-2. Berazadi responded with a 50-yard neck shot for a goal, levelling the score at 3-3. Team USA rallied to score consecutive goals from Agustin Arellano and Nico Escobar (one from the eld and one on a penalty conversion). After two periods of play, Team USA held what seemed a comfortable 6-3 advantage.

A recharged Spanish team took the eld in the third with Berazadi and Guinazu

THE NON-STOP ACTION KEPT THE CROWD OF OVER 3,000 ON THEIR FEET AS SPAIN CAPTURED THE CUP

scoring from the eld to cut the USA lead to a single goal, 6-5. A penalty conversion from Berazadi knotted the score at 6-6 and a goal from the eld from Guinazu had Spain leading 7-6.

‘Our main strength was teamwork,’ said Spain’s coach, Araya. Along with, ‘A good relationship among the players and a determination to achieve.’

Nico Escobar exploded with three goals that had Team USA in front again at 9-7. With seconds left on the clock in the fourth, Berazadi stole the ball and scored as the horn sounded. Team USA had a 9-8 lead, but Spain still had a response.

Hope Arellano scored the opening goal of the fth chukka for a 10-8 USA lead, but Spain clawed its way back with a penalty conversion from Berazadi, 10-9 and an equalising goal from the eld from Domecq, forced a sudden-death overtime chukka. Play was measured but intense with both teams struggling for control of the ball. Midway through the period, a USA foul proved costly as Berazadi converted a penalty shot for the winning goal, 11-10, at the 3:25 mark!

The non-stop action kept the crowd of over 3,000 on their feet for the remainder of play, as Spain became the rst European team to capture the FIP World Polo Championship Cup.

Berazadi led the Spanish team with ve goals and earned MVP honours; J5 Matilde – played in the third and fth chukkas by Berazadi – was named Best Playing Pony.