Argentina won Olympic men’s hockey gold for the first time with a 4-2 victory over Belgium in Rio.
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Belgium took the lead after two minutes and 35 seconds when Tanguy Cosyns redirected a sublime pass from Loick Luypaert to beat Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi.
Team captain Pedro Ibarra got the equalizer on a deceptive behind-the-back penalty corner play.
Belgium seemed rattled after Argentina took the lead, but all they needed was an early goal to keep them in the game.
A sensational individual goal from Gauthier Boccard set up a grandstand finale, but Belgium were unable to find a third and conceded again in the closing seconds.
Thursday’s final brought together two teams contesting an Olympic final for the first time and, although Belgium drew first blood, Argentina held a 3-1 lead by half-time.
With this victory Argentina, ranked at seven in the world, surpassed their previous best Olympic performance of a fifth-place finish at the 1948 Games in London.
Germany secured the final spot on the podium after they triumphed in a shoot-out against the Netherlands.
Argentina had stunned Germany, the gold medallists in 2008 and 2012, by 5-2 while Belgium had outsmarted Netherlands 3-1 in the semi-final.
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Croon received the ball a couple of metres outside the attacking circle, feinted one way, then spun the other past two German defenders before dribbling along the baseline, stick in one hand, and beating Jacobi through his legs from a tight angle.
