Close contests, exciting goals and enthralling finishes marked day two of the Odisha World Cup. First, Argentina and Spain played their heartout to set the Kalinga stadium turf on fire. The scoreboard reflects the true intensity of the game (4-3). There may not have been more goals in the next game between New Zealand and France.

New Zealand exerted enormous pressure against the European side to extract a 2-0 lead which they led till 73 end from the hooter. Around that time, France got their third penalty corner with an added player on account of coach Jerone Delmee taking out the goalie. Captain Victor Charlet struck to narrow down the score to 2-1 but the Kiwis passed out the remainder of the time without any further damage to collect full points.

But match of the day goes to Argentina-Spain. The traditional rival dished out a rich fare, entertaining nearly full stands, mostly school kids.

The credit for scoring the first goal goes to enterprising, bandana wearing Enrique Gonzalez (3rd minute). In the next minute, a neat free hit deflection by Agustin Mazzilli saw the score levelled. Two early goals set the stadium on fire. But the heat was on.

Joseph Romeu tapped in a PC rebound to give his side 2-1 lead in the 14th minute only to see it nulliefied by fighting Argentina (Agustin Mazzilli again) in the 15th minute (2-2). Same minute even as first quarter hooter had sounded, Gonzalo Peillat struck through another PC for a fighting score 3-2. The flurry of goals kept the cheering crowd busy.