International polo has a new world champion. Spain beat the United States 11-10 in sudden-death overtime in the final of the XII FIP World Polo Championship at the USPA National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida, taking the trophy to Europe for the first time since the tournament began 35 years ago.
An eight-team championship
The championship ran from late October to 6 November and was hosted by the United States Polo Association. Eight teams took part: the USA as hosts, Argentina, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain and Uruguay. Qualifying through five zone playoffs involved more than twenty countries. Preliminary games were played at Valiente Polo Farm, while the opening ceremony, semi-finals and final were held at the National Polo Center.
The semi-final that stunned Argentina
Argentina came into the event as defending champions, having won in Sydney in 2017, but the USA beat them 9-8 in sudden-death overtime in the semi-final. That set up a final against Spain, which also went to sudden death. Third place went to Uruguay, who beat Argentina 9-7.5.
A young home team
The USA team was made up of players between 17 and 25, including Nico Díaz Alberdi, Agustín Arellano, Hope Arellano, Joaquín Avendaño, Lucas Escobar, Nico Escobar and Jake Klentner. Hope Arellano, aged 19, became the first woman to play for the USA in the competition. Nico Escobar was the team’s leading scorer throughout the tournament, with six goals in the final. The team was coached by Julio Arellano, father of Agustín and Hope, who won the FIP tournament as a player in 1989.
Why it matters
A Spanish win, in overtime against a young American team and with the reigning champions beaten in the semi-finals, shows how much the level of international polo has risen. It is also a landmark result for Spanish polo, which has a long tradition in Sotogrande and other grounds.
It was also a good week for the host nation. The USPA presented a championship that drew teams from four continents, and the USA team finished with the silver medal on home turf. As followers of the English game, we will be interested to see whether this encourages more national-team polo in Europe.
Sources: Newswire (USPA release), Australian Polo Federation
