FIH Hockey World Cup / @FIH_Hockey

Giant killers South Africa started its phase two campaign in the FIH World Cup Hockey for men by defeating France 3-1, while South African women, playing in the ninth to sixteenth position, played a 1-1 draw with Japan.

The Phase 2 games, promising a much richer fare of vintage hockey, saw Chile taking a lead against England before succumbing to the strong pressure tactics of their opponents, England, and lost 1-4. Chile had some exciting games in the tournament as it held Australia to an exciting 4-4 draw.

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In the men’s section, Ireland made short work of Malaysia, winning 7-4.

In the women’s section, the game between the 2024 Paris Olympic Games silver medallist China and Australia was expected to be crisp and exciting after the Chinese dropped a point on being held to a 2-2 draw by hard-fighting Indian girls. India also made the Phase 2 by holding England to a goalless draw. This had been the only match that ended goalless in the tournament so far.

Against Australia, China took the lead in the third quarter through Ying Zhang in the 39th minute. Australians tried desperately, but the Chinese stood their ground well in defence.

Australia was neutralised by a penalty stroke from Courtney Schonell in the 50th minute.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Yesterday, in the last round of the group matches, late goals, standout performances, hard-fought draws and a couple of surprises made it a dramatic day.

For Belgian fans, their 2-1 win over Ireland made them breathe a hefty sigh of relief after their women’s side held off a massive challenge. The Irish went ahead thanks to a Charlotte Beggs goal from a penalty corner in the 13th minute. And while the Belgians dominated in all departments, they simply could not find the back of the net. Needing just a draw to progress, the all-important goal finally came in the 49th minute with an impressive strike from Charlotte Englebert into the bottom left corner. Ambre Ballenghien added a second with just 43 seconds remaining, taking her side to the top of Pool C.

In other Pool C action, a hat-trick from Patricia Alvarez ensured Spain’s passage into the next round as one of the top two teams after a 3-0 victory over New Zealand. The Spanish dominated the first half without finding a way past the Kiwi defence, but finally broke the deadlock in the 40th minute when Alvarez squeezed her effort from open play under the goalkeeper. Play was briefly suspended as heavy rain swept through Wavre, but Spain resumed control when the players returned to the pitch. Alvarez lifted her second into the net in the 55th minute before completing her hat-trick in the final minute with a tap-in to an empty goal after New Zealand had removed their goalkeeper.

Alvarez was understandably named Player of the Match and said afterwards: “I'm very happy, I'm very proud of the team, the staff, the 20 players at the tournament. I'm very happy and I'm very ready for the next round.”

India held England to a goalless draw to secure its passage to the next round as the second-ranked team in Pool D, having needed only a point while England required victory to progress.

China had earlier climbed to the top of Pool D with a convincing 5-1 victory over South Africa. Meirong Zou opened the scoring before Paris-Gail Isaacs slapped in the equaliser from a South African penalty corner – just her second international goal. But China quickly regained control through Jiaqi Zhong and Anhui Yu, who both converted penalty corners. Yi Chen added a fourth from open play early in the final quarter before Zou completed her brace with just over two minutes remaining to seal a comfortable win.

In the men’s tournament, a hat-trick from Tomas Domene led the way for Argentina as the South Americans came back from a goal down to beat New Zealand 7-1 in a match in which they needed just one point to progress to the next round as one of the top two teams in Pool A. Kane Russell put New Zealand ahead from a penalty stroke in the 13th minute, but Domene levelled, also from the spot, to keep the teams level at half-time. The Argentinians took a firm grip on the game in the third quarter, though, with Bautista Capurro putting Argentina ahead before Domene added his second from a penalty corner, with Tadeo Marcucci and Nicolas Keenan then extending their lead. Capurro struck again late, tapping into an empty goal after the Black Sticks took off their keeper before Domene completed his hat-trick in the final minute to cap a dominant victory.

Domene was named Player of the Match and said afterwards: “I think this was our first objective, to play the second round. We needed a win, and today we showed what we can do as a team. So, happy for the goals, happy for the team, and I think from now is the... start of our tournament.”

Japan held the Netherlands for much of its match, but the Dutch eventually rallied to win 4-1 and finish top of Pool A. The Japanese stunned the Amsterdam crowd by taking an eighth-minute lead, thanks to Kazumasa Matsumoto. But it took the Dutch just four minutes to respond, with hijs van Dam slotting in the equaliser. Japan held firm to keep the scores level at half-time and continued to frustrate the Dutch into the second half. But with 10 minutes remaining Jip Janssen converted a penalty stroke to put the Netherlands ahead. Tim Reijnders then struck from successive penalty corners in the final five minutes to make sure of the result.

 

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