Defending champions Germany and the Netherlands stayed on course for the semi-finals of the men’s field hockey World Cup with contrasting wins on Friday.
Germany, the reigning Olympic champions who are looking to win a third consecutive World Cup title, sweated to a 4-3 victory over a fighting Argentina at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The Netherlands hammered lowly Canada 6-0 in another group A match, with Rogier Hofman and Taeke Taekema scoring two goals apiece.
PHOTO: EPA
Ronald Brouwer and Rob Reckers were the other scorers as the Netherlands, a three-time winner, hit top gear in the second session after the first had ended 0-0.
With two rounds of league matches remaining, the Netherlands lead the group with nine points from three games, followed by Germany with seven and New Zealand with six.
New Zealand stayed in contention for their first-ever appearance in the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over South Korea.
The Netherlands must win one of their two remaining games against world champions Germany today and South Korea on Tuesday to qualify for the semi-finals.
Dutch captain Teun de Nooijer said the three wins so far had given his team confidence ahead of the match against Germany.
“The rivalry between Germany and the Netherlands is intense, just like the one ween India and Pakistan,” the veteran midfielder said.“ We have to be at our best because we know what the Germans are capable of, but the good record so far means we will be ready for them on Sunday.”
Argentina, who had lost both their previous matches, fought all the way against Germany in an exciting late night match.
Martin Zwicker slammed two goals as Germany took a 3-1 lead, before Matias Paredes scored for Argentina just before halftime.
Martin Haner put Germany 4-2 ahead in the 51st minute and Pedro Ibarra made it 3-4 four minutes later, but Argentina failed to get the equalizer in the last quarter.
“We knew Argentina will be tough because we play a similar game,” German captain Max Muller said. “We should have had a two-goal advantage, but could not score a fifth goal. The group is wide open. We will, of course, need to get the better of the Dutch. It won’t be easy.”
New Zealand scored both their goals against South Korea in the first half when Andrew Hayward converted a penalty corner in the fifth minute, before captain Dean Couzins fired home a penalty-stroke in the 22nd minute of the match.
South Korea reduced the margin in the final minute through a stroke by Lee Nam-yong.
New Zealand, who have not finished higher than seventh in the World Cup, must win their last two games against Argentina today and Germany on Tuesday to book a semi-final spot.
South Korea, the Asian champions, are virtually out of the race with just four points in the bag.
South Korean coach Shin Seok-kyo blamed his team’s poor display in the tournament so far on the lack of proper preparation.
“We should have trained better for the World Cup, but the cold weather at home did not help,” he said. “It is not a good feeling now because we are almost out of it.”
Couzins said the 3-1 win over the South Koreans in the Beijing Olympics boosted his team’s confidence.
“We have a good record against them and that helped,” he said. “We are still in the fight for the semi-finals because we have played quite well.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS