Day 4 of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup promised close contests as teams started to get a clearer picture of the results they needed to reach the targets they had set for the pool stages. Malaysia vs Chile in Pool C and France vs South Africa in Pool A were crucial contests in terms of avoiding a 4th place finish, which rules teams out of the quarterfinals contention, with all 4 teams having lost their first matches at the World Cup. Malaysia were the first team to get on the board today, coming back from a goal down twice to beat Chile 3-2. France would replicate them later in the day winning another close contest against South Africa to register their first points in Pool A. In the battle of the unbeaten teams, Netherlands made light work of New Zealand beating them 4-0, making it two wins in two, to get to 6 points and now need just a draw in their final game against Chile to confirm their spot at the top of Pool C and earn a direct entry into the quarterfinals. In Pool A, Argentina and Australia played a highly entertaining draw where the momentum swung from one side to the other. Australia were down 3-2 with just 2 minutes remaining, but Blake Govers, returning from injury, stepped up when it mattered and scored a fantastic goal to keep Australia at the top of the pool, thanks to their vastly superior goal difference. Match 1: Malaysia vs Chile 3-2 Malaysia and Chile came into the opening contest of day 4 knowing it was crucial to get a win, with both teams having faced losses in their opening encounters against Netherlands and New Zealand respectively. Both teams played the contest with an open attacking flair that they had been unable to express in their opening contests. Chile were the first to score from a penalty corner as Juan Amoroso’s drag flick went through the rushing Malaysian defenders and thumped the backboard. Malaysia then struck back as Razie Rahim scored from a penalty stroke. But Chile got their lead back before the half through a smashing reverse shot by Martin Rodriguez. Malaysia had their work cut out if they wanted to win the game in the second half, but they got their act together quickly, scoring twice in the third quarter. Ashran Hamsani got the leveller, acrobatically deflecting a high ball from over his head, into the goal. Norsyafiq Sumantri then put Malaysia in the lead, smartly passing the ball under the keeper on the reverse, after a Malaysian penalty corner attempt was deflected by the first rusher. Chile threatened to pull level in the very last second as they earned a penalty corner, but two massive saves from Malaysian keeper Hafizuddin Othman got Malaysia the win and all 3 points! Norsyafiq Sumantri was awarded the player of the match for scoring the decisive goal for Malaysia. Captain Marhan Jalil speaking after his team’s win said: “We are happy with the win. It wasn’t the perfect game, we could have played much better. But it’s 3 points and that was what we needed today.” Match 2: New Zealand vs Netherlands 0-4  Netherlands were handed a big break inside the first 5 minutes as a poor backward pass from Kane Russell was easily intercepted by Tjep Hoedemakers who squared up the ball to captain Thierry Brinkman, who had just the keeper to beat, and his powerful shot could not be stopped. Netherlands added another goal in the first quarter as New Zealand substituted their keeper for an outfield player in a surprising move, which allowed Netherlands to attack the circle and find Koen Bijen who had an open goal to tap the ball into. Thierry Brinkman then added a second goal before the half as a smart deflection at the top of the circle managed to sneak past the Kiwi keeper who was brought back on in the second quarter. New Zealand were much more composed in defence in the second half, making it a fairly even battle. But the Netherlands would not be denied. They first had the ball in the back of the goal in the final minute of quarter 3, but it was taken away for a foul in the build up. Netherlands would not be denied for long though as Tjep Hoedemakers who was at his industrious best, got on the end of a cross by captain Brinkman to add a 4th goal in the final quarter and make it 6 points out of 6 for them. Dutch captain Thierry Brinkman was awarded player of the match and said: “Happy to get 4 field goals today. We probably could have scored more to be honest, but happy overall with two wins in two.” Match 3: France vs South Africa 2-1 France and South Africa have competed multiple times over the past year in the FIH Hockey Pro League as well as the recently concluded FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup. In the Pro League, it was France who got the better of South Africa twice, while South Africa gained the upper hand in the Nations Cup. With both teams facing opening day losses to Argentina and Australia, the head-to-head encounter was crucial for them both to try and win in order to avoid the bottom spot and try to make it to the quarterfinals or the crossovers. Both teams produced attacking hockey as most fans expected, but goals in the first half came through penalty corners for both sides. Victor Charlet was the first to score with a low flick that snuck in between the keeper and the post defender. Connor Beauchamp equalised for South Africa in the 15th minute with an absolute ripper of a drag flick that went over the head of the French keeper and into the goal. The second half followed a similar pattern, but it was Victor Charlet once again who made the difference, perfectly placing a low drag

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Day 2 of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 continued to thrill packed crowds in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela as New Zealand, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany earned comfortable victories, as Pools B and C got underway. New Zealand took on Chile in the first contest of the day in Rourkela. Early nerves from the Chilean defence allowed the Kiwis to grab the initiative and get 3 first half goals, but Chile were resurgent in the second half and grabbed their first ever goal in the FIH Men’s World Cup with a beautiful counter-attacking move to earn a well-deserved consolation goal. It was the turn of the European giants next as each one of Netherlands, Belgium and Germany faced stiff opposition from Malaysia, Korea and Japan respectively, but stepped up their game in the second halves to register comfortable wins by big margins by full times. Netherlands secured a 4-0 win against Malaysia in the second game in Rourkela. It was then Pool B action in Bhubaneswar where Belgium scored 5 second half goals to win 5-0 against Korea, before Germany repeated the same pattern, scoring 3 goals in the second half against Japan to run away 3-0 winners. Match 1: New Zealand vs Chile 3-1 New Zealand were quick out of the gates applying heavy pressure inside the Chile half. Chile relied on counter attacks, looking for runners on the wings to find space behind the Kiwi backline. Playing in their first ever World Cup game, the Chilean backline played tentatively and paid the price in the first half as Sam Lane and Sam Hiha (twice) capitalised on individual errors to put New Zealand up 3-0 inside 20 minutes. Chile were much more composed in defence in the second half and that allowed them to launch long aerial balls behind the New Zealand defence. One such ball found Ignacio Contardo who weaved into the circle, beating 3 Kiwi defenders, before taking the ball past the keeper and finishing on the reverse to give Chile their first ever goal in the Men’s World Cup! The goal proved to be a consolation but it was a good reward for Chile who shook their early nervousness and gave a great account of themselves in the second half. Chile keeper Adrian Henriquez was particularly terrific for them, pulling multiple saves to keep New Zealand out in the entire second half. Sam Ward who opened the scoring was awarded player of the match and said: “Chile are a tough team to play against. We knew it would be a good game, so it is good to get the first win. Looking forward to the next game here.” Match 2: Netherlands vs Malaysia 4-0  The start to the game looked like it could be a long day for Netherlands as the Malaysian defence frustrated the Dutch attackers, comfortably keeping them out of dangerous positions. But an error in the 20th minute by the defence gave Netherlands a half chance and they showed why they are so dangerous as Thijs van Dam pounced on the loose ball and put it away to open the scoring for Netherlands. The Dutch added a second goal before the half as Jip Janssen who had seen a penalty corner saved earlier in the half, put a penalty stroke away in the 24th minute to double his team’s lead. Netherlands added two more goals through Teun Beins and Jorrit Croon, in the fourth quarter after Malaysia had spent a good part of the third quarter on the attack trying to score a goal that would let them back into the game. The final scoreline reflected a comfortable 4-0 win for Netherlands, but Malaysia had their moments in the game for large portions, primarily in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Jorrit Croon, scorer of the beautiful 4th Dutch goal was awarded player of the match and said: “It is a great feeling playing in this stadium in front of this packed crowd. It’s a good win to start the tournament but we can’t get carried away, its just one game and its a long tournament.” Match 3: Belgium vs Korea 5-0 Belgium vs Korea promised to be a thriller with the Olympic and World Champions going head-to-head against Korea who were in brilliant form during the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup that took place in December 2022. Korea gave a great account of themselves in the first half, going toe to toe with Belgium in attack while also keeping the Belgian attack at bay to go into the half at 0-0. Belgium scored in the first minute of the second half with Alexander Hendrickx burying his third penalty corner attempt of the day. The first goal opened the floodgates for Belgium and they tacked on 4 more goals in the final 16 minutes of the game to earn a comfortable win. Victor Wegnez was awarded the player of the match and said: “It was a great team effort. I collect the player of the match, but it’s a team game and we played really well as a team to get this win, which we are very happy with.” Match 4: Germany vs Japan 3-0  Germany vs Japan followed a similar pattern to the game that preceded it as the first half saw Japan frustrate the 2-time champions and match them step for step, but a drop in intensity in the second half gave the German’s a foot in the door and they made full use of the opportunity to grab the goals and take all 3 points. Gonzalo Peillat was stopped twice in the first half from the penalty corners, so Germany tried an intricate variation in the second half and it unlocked the Japanese defence with captain Mats Grambusch getting the final touch. Germany scored a second on a brilliant counter as a pass by Müller from his own half found Rühr behind the Japanese defence, and he rounded the keeper and put the ball in the back of the

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Pool A and Pool D got underway on day 1 of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 as the action began in Bhubaneswar and finished in Rourkela. In Bhubaneswar, Argentina were the first to get on the board, registering a close 1-0 win against South Africa. Australia then went top of Pool A with a dominant 8-0 win against France, who played well despite the unflattering scoreline. Action then shifted to Rourkela where England got the better of neighbours Wales, winning 5-0. It was then home team India’s turn against a tricky Spanish team that has caused them some trouble over the past year in the FIH Hockey Pro League. But after overcoming early nerves, the Indian attack dominated and claimed a 2-0 win to get 3 crucial points in the Pool D encounter. Match 1: Argentina vs South Africa 1-0 Both Argentina and South Africa set a fast tone for the World Cup playing all-out attacking hockey in the first quarter. Both goalkeepers had to be on constant alert as the ball entered the circle multiple times for both teams, but neither team could produce a real threat on the goal. Argentina came out in attack in the second quarter however, earning 3 quick penalty corners, but Gowan Jones stepped up in the South African goal and kept the scores tied. Two yellow cards for Keenan and Catan in the 2nd quarter arrested Argentina’s momentum and the teams went into the break on level terms. Argentina started the second half brighter but couldn’t open the scoring despite earning their 5th and 6th penalty corners early in the half. Argentina did finally manage to break the deadlock in the 43rd minute through a field goal as Maico Casella got in front of Gowan Jones and a slight deflection on a shot by Toscani unsighted the in-form keeper. Argentina held on to the slender lead, as the South African attack lacked penetration, till the very end and took all 3 points. Maico Casella was awarded the player of the match and said: “Good to win the first match, we played well enough. I think the positive we take is the number of penalty corners we won, and we will start converting more going forward.” Match 2: Australia vs France 8-0  Australia were quick off the blocks showing why they are the early tournament favourites. They got the first goal of the game thanks to a brilliant run by Tom Craig as he split the defence, passed to Tim Brand and got a deflection on Craig’s shot to cap off the fantastic move. France were much better in the second quarter but failed to capitalise on their chances and Australia made them pay with 3 goals in the final 4 minutes. Australia had all the momentum going into the half and were quick to get going in the second half as a beautiful team move saw 4 players touch the ball in the circle before it was tapped home by Tom Craig. Jeremy Hayward then scored his third penalty corner goal to complete a smashing hattrick. Tom Brand added a third as well in the 45th minute to become the second Australian to grab a hattrick in the same game! Australia cruised through the final quarter adding one more goal through Tom Wickham to cap off a great 8-0 win and take all 3 points. Hattrick hero Tom Craig was awarded player of the match and said: “Good to get the goals but better feeling winning. We haven’t played tournament hockey since July last year, but we prepared well for this and hopefully we get even better going forward.” Match 3: England vs Wales 5-0 England made a fantastic start to the game as Nicholas Park scored within the first 20 seconds to stun Wales and grab an early lead. But Wales were quick to get up to speed and the remainder of the half was an even contest with both teams trading attacks. England scored at the perfect time again, doubling their lead through a Liam Ansell penalty corner goal with just 2 minutes left in the half, leaving Wales to try and chase the game in the 2nd half. England scored twice in the 3rd quarter to gain total control of the game. Liam Ansel scored his second goal of the game in the 38th minute from a penalty corner, and Phil Roper opened his account with a field goal in the 42nd minute to put the game beyond Wales’ reach. Wales committed heavily to the attack in the final quarter trying to claw a goal back, but England stood firm and scored a 5th goal through Nicholas Bandurak in the 57th minute to seal a perfect win and 3 points for England. Sam Ward was awarded player of the match and said: “Could not have asked for a better start to the tournament. Just want to keep the momentum going from here on out and into the next game against India.” Match 4: India vs Spain 2-0  The Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela was packed to the rafters as home team India took on rivals Spain in a big Pool D encounter to close day 1 of the World Cup. The game was also attended by Shri Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Prem Singh Tamang, Hon’ble Chief minister of Sikkim, Shri Tayyab Ikram, President – International Hockey Federation, Padma Shri Dr. Dilip Tirkey, President – Hockey India, accompanied by Cdr RK Srivastava, Executive Director, Hockey India. Spain started the game on the front foot causing India some nervy moments, but India settled down soon and were in front by the end of first quarter as Amit Rohidas capitalised on a blocked drag flick by Harmanpreet to bury a shot in the goal, which was India’s 200th goal in the competition! India struck again before the half through a goal by Hardik to take a solid 2-0 lead into the half. India had

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Since Belgium lifted their first ever FIH Hockey World Cup title at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the same venue played host to the opening game of the next edition. FIH Hockey Nations Cup champions South Africa taking on the 2016 Olympic champions Argentina. The opening exchanges had an element of early tournament jitters as neither side were able to create any significant moment of quality, with both offering a glimmer of the threat available as a potential warning sign. Nic Spooner was instrumental for the African champions in curtailing the Argentinean threat in the middle of the park. Argentina ramped up the pressure in the second quarter and were awarded a penalty corner that was superbly saved by Gowan Jones before the next awarded was well defended by Eustice. Argentina was clearly gaining the upper hand, but Gowan Jones was marshalling the defense in the same superb way he did at the Commonwealth Games last year. That period of dominance was halted by Argentina being shown the first card of the game when Nicolas Keenan was given a yellow card for foul play and the South Africans would see out the first half with a player advantage. They were disappointingly not able to capitalize on the number supremacy with the best moment seeing a Bili Ntuli cross narrowly miss the diving attention of Keenan Horne. At half time the tournament was still waiting its first goal. Argentina won a fortuitous penalty corner early in the second half but a poor execution from the Argentines saw Jones untroubled in the goal for the Africans. The South Africans were doing well at extinguishing the Argentine and finally had their first penalty corner opportunity in the 40th minute. The attempted variation was defended by the Argentines and the stalemate continued. It was Argentina who struck first when Maica Casella inched in front of Gowan Jones with the slightest touch and the ball bundled home to give the South Americans the lead. They had the opportunity before the break with another penalty corner, but they wasted it again. 15 minutes remained in the opening match. South Africa won a penalty corner after a superb referral from Dayaan Cassiem. The first was charged down with a foot. But the second saw Jacques van Tonder effort charged down superbly. Although they had the opportunity to create on the break the Argentines were frustrated by their lack of effectiveness. They were however awarded two penalty corners with the chance to stretch the lead, but they failed to add to the score line. Ryan Julius created his own pocket of space and went for the slap finish, but it was easily saved by Santiago. Tevin Kok then had a reverse stick shot saved, this one a lot tougher for Santiago as the Africans desperately looked for and equalizer. Dayaan Cassiem asked the next question and was rewarded with a penalty corner. The run was charged down and blown for danger, but the South Africans immediately referred but the on-field decision was upheld with four minutes remaining. Argentina slowed the game down at every opportunity as the final minutes approached. There was time for the South Africans to ask one more question but the Argentines were able to answer it and seal an opening day victory. South Africa next play France on Monday in a pivotal game of Pool A. Source: SAHockey.co.za