Thu 26th Apr 2018Copa de las Naciones 2018Ninth annual tournament is underway
Under the hot Argentine sun the ninth edition of the Copa de las Naciones got underway yesterday, Wednesday 25 April. In the first match of the tournament, Colombia took to the field against the North American Team. The game was narrowly fought from the first throw-in, with neither team allowing the other the space to score. The Colombians were the first to break through the American defensive line and for the next two chukkas the scoreboard rested in their favour. Colombia began the third chukka with a surge of goals, four to be exact, following a series of great plays from ‘Pipe’ Marquez and Juan Esteban Uribe. The fourth chukka continued in the same suit as Colombia scored another two goals, bringing the scoreboard to 8-0 in their favour. Fred Mannix Jnr could not find his bearing for the North American Team and despite valiant attempts to come back and finally score, it wasn’t until a successful penalty in the last 36 seconds of the match that the North Americans even made it onto the scoreboard, quickly following with a field goal. The final score rested on 15-2 in Colombia’s favour, an excellent score with which to start this international tournament. 2018 is the first time in recent years that a British team has not participated in the Copa de las Naciones, which may be due to the levies implemented on British players by the Argentine Polo Association. Tomorrow, Friday 27 April, the tournament will continue as North American take on Argentina. The Copa de las Naciones 2018 Day One Teams: Colombia (24): Felipe Márquez (6), Juan Esteban Uribe (6), Martín Huertas (6) & Federico Uribe (6) North America (26): Julian Mannix (6), Jesse Bray (5), Fred Mannix Jnr (9) & Jared Zenni (6) Argentina (26): Manuel Novillo Astrada (2), Ruifino Bensadón (4), Guillermo ‘Sapo’ Caset (10) & Juan M. Nero (10) Reserves: Nicolás Pieres (10), Jorge Fernández Ocampo (4) & Ignacio Arbelbide (2) Photograph: Colombia defeated the North American Team by 15-2 in the first game of the Copa de las Naciones. By Matias Calléjo |