For more than a decade and a half, the Argentine defence has had a bulwark in its ranks. It comes in the shape and form of Pedro Ibarra, 35, one of eight players that helped win the 2005 Junior World Cup in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Ibarra went on, as the other seven, to play a major role for Argentina on the senior stage. He had already made his full international debut in 2004 and caught the eye with solidity at the back which has been a key factor in his country’s rise to the top bracket in the last decade or so.

Ibarra’s greatest moment was being part of Argentina’s Olympic gold medal winning team at Rio 2016 but he and his team gave hints of such an epoch while finishing with the bronze medal at the 2014 World Cup in The Hague, The Netherlands.

There are other gold medals in his possession, those from the last three Pan American Games (2011, 2015, 2019) and one from the 2017 Pan American Cup.

Playing for San Fernando HC at home, Ibarra also assisted Real Club de Polo in the Spanish league.

The older brother of Isidoro who also was in the team in the final against Belgium which Argentina won 4-2 for the gold medal at Rio five years ago, Ibarra’s wealth of experience garnered from almost 300 international matches will count for a lot in his country’s bid to retain the title.