FIH Junior World Ranking: 2

How they qualified: 5th place – FIH Hockey Junior World Cup South Africa 2022

Junior World Cup history: 2022 – 5th, 2016 – 1st, 2013 – 2nd, 2009 – 2nd, 2005 – 5th, 2001 – 2nd, 1997 – 3rd, 1993 – 1st, 1989 – 6th

With two gold medals, three silvers and one bronze, Argentina have an impressive record in the women’s Junior World Cup. A fifth-place finish at the 2022 edition in Potchefstroom was only the third time in the competition’s history that the giants of Pan American hockey have failed to medal, something they will be determined to correct in Santiago, the city that staged their last Junior World Cup title success in 2016. Earlier this year, Las Leoncitas produced a fine set of performances at the Junior Pan American Championships, defeating Uruguay (4-0), USA (2-0) and Canada (1-0) to reach the gold medal game. However, the team could not get over the line, with USA taking the title in a shoot-out after regular time finished with the scores level at 1-1. The team selected by head coach Juan Lopez contains three players who helped Argentina’s senior women’s team to glory at the recent Pan American Games 2023, with Juana Castellaro, Sofia Cairo, and Valentina Raposo – an Olympic sliver medallist from Tokyo 2020, no less – all returning tothe same Santiago pitches in search of more silverware.