The revenge of China Cosentino, the star goalkeeper of the Lionesses to reach the semi-final :: Olé

05/08/2024 10:13hs. Updated on 05/08/2024 10:52hs.

The Lionesses are already in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games. And much of this classification is due to Christina CosentinoThe goalkeeper was key in the penalty shoot-out: of Germany’s four penalty attempts, none ended in a goal. A memorable performance that made her the heroine of the Argentine field hockey team, which will now go in search of a medal.

Known as China, this 26-year-old goalkeeper from Banco Nación is enjoying her first Olympic Games. She was left out of Tokyo 2020 when the historic Belén Succi and Clara Barberi were chosen to defend the Argentine goal. But she knew how to wait, take the positive from that sadness and today she has her revenge: In the quarter-finals against the Germans, she left her name engraved as the main figure in Argentina’s victory.

Watch the last penalty:

The lioness –

China Cosentino, the last Australian penalty saved, and Las Leonas’ qualification for the semi-finals against Germany

A forward in her early days, she found her passion in the goal. So much so that she became the starting goalkeeper for the Leonas. “I started because there was no goalkeeper and we rotated all the time, “Until I got scared to tell the coach that I didn’t want to, I ended up liking it. It’s difficult because it’s a position that, as everyone says, is thankless, but I think it’s very good. It’s a special position, you have to be strong psychologically, nowadays it saves you games and it’s super important,” he had said in an interview a few months ago. It was a harbinger: against Germany he saved Argentina.

“It’s a great emotion. We knew that against Germany it was a decisive match. The quarter-finals are the most important match because if you get through, you are already playing for the medal.” She commented after the match and about her role in the Australian penalty shoot-out, the game that exists in hockey to break a tie in a match. There, the Lionesses won 2-0 with a remarkable performance by Cosentino: none of the four shots were converted.

For China, those penalties were a double revenge. On the one hand, for their absence in Tokyo. On the other, for what happened in regular time when they committed the penalty that gave Germany a 1-0 lead. Luckily, the Lionesses equalised with one minute left in the match through Eugenia Trinchinetti. “They saved me by tying the game so I had to pay them back in the penalty shootout,” he said.

“We went to Argentina”said Cosentino, emulating the Dibu Martínez in football in that heart-stopping definition that is the penalty shoot-out. Now he awaits the winner of the Netherlands and Great Britain for the semi-final next Wednesday.

The full penalty shootout:

The lioness –

The full Australian penalty shootout: how Las Leonas beat Germany and reached the semi-finals of the Olympic Games