Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals of the Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup today ©FIH

Argentina have become the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2016 Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup after they defeated Germany 4-1 to secure one of the top two places in Group B in Santiago.

The South Americans guaranteed their qualification for the last eight with an efficient display against the Germans.

Julieta Jankunas opened the scoring for Argentina in the 17th minute before Rio 2016 star Maria Granatto doubled their lead seven minutes later.

Granatto scored again after a penalty corner seconds before the half-time break, to make the score 3-0. 

Captain Lucina von der Heyde then completed the scoring for Argentina in the second half, with Germany’s reply arriving in the 59th minute after a penalty corner which was converted by captain Viktoria Huse.

In the other match in Group B today, Japan and France shared the points.

Japan controlled the match and had several opportunities to take the lead, but an outstanding display by France goalkeeper Mathilde Petriaux kept the scores level.

The contest finished 0-0 to leave both teams with a chance of qualifying for the last eight.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game but we gave it our all," said France’s Victorine Vankemmel.

"We had to be very defensive and very condensed in our D.

"We had to face a lot of short corners but we had a very good goalkeeper out there today."

Argentina beat Germany 4-1 to reach the last eight of the competition ©FIH
Argentina beat Germany 4-1 to reach the last eight of the competition ©FIH

Elsewhere, the Group A match between England and Australia ended as a draw in what proved to be an extremely tight but highly entertaining affair.

England were fast out of the traps and went 1-0 ahead from a penalty corner after only four minutes through Erica Sanders.

Australia’s perseverance eventually paid off when Renee Taylor equalised after a penalty corner in the 43rd minute.

With the game ending 1-1, both teams finished the day level at the summit of the pool with four points with only one more game to play.

The hosts Chile, meanwhile, remain in the hunt for quarter-final qualification as they secured their first win of the event in front of a raucous home crowd.

Their opponents, African champions South Africa, tried their best to quieten the home fans but Chile broke the deadlock after only five minutes when Fernanda Villagran Verdaguer scored high into the net from a penalty corner.

South Africa hit back however, drawing level through Gretchin Davids after 51 minutes, but their joy was short lived.

Sofia Machado Paonessa restored the lead for Chile three minutes later as they held on to win 2-1 to keep their hopes of qualification alive.