Austria and the Netherlands were the only teams to maintain their perfect records on day three at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria, South Africa in both the men’s and women’s tournaments, so ensuring safe passage through to the quarterfinals. As a mark of respect for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, a moment of silence preceded the beginning of the day’s matches. After being pushed all the way by hosts South Africa a day earlier, the Dutch women were back to their goal-blitzing best, putting eight past Australia for a third straight victory. The Dutch have conceded just one goal in three matches at the tournament so far. “I’m really happy about how we played today,” said a relieved Netherlands captain Donja Zwinkels. “Yesterday we had a really tough game against South Africa – the goals didn’t quite go in. But today as a team we really stepped up a level and the passing was higher and the movement was better,” added Zwinkels whose four goals against Australia saw her climbing to the top of the all-time top goalscorers list for the Dutch in World Cups and European Championships with 34. The Austrian women had to come from 1-2 down to secure their 4-2 victory over New Zealand. Captain Miriam Gerö said a stern word from the coach after the first quarter made all the difference. “I think the first quarter was hard for us because we had no structure. Our coach said we had to wake up and I think that was the key point. So, from the second quarter on we scored the goals and that was nice,” she said. Equally thrilled with her team’s performance was Canadian captain Alison Lee whose side pulled off their first win of the tournament after two previous draws with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic. “Just to get the win was amazing but against the Czech puts it at another level,” she said. “We knew going in that they were top of our pool so for us coming from Canada to beat a team like Czech – we’re ecstatic right now.” Belgium’s women also secured their first points of the tournament with a 5-2 win over Kazakhstan. In the men’s tournament, Namibia made history by recording their first-ever World Cup win, and they did it in comprehensive fashion, beating Kazakhstan 6-2. Captain and goalkeeper DJ Strauss put in a player-of-the-match performance. “I see the ball and I stop it. I can’t really explain it – it’s just hard training after lots of years,” he explained. Speaking about his nation’s first-ever World Cup victory, Strauss added: “We are very proud, and ups to Kazakhstan – they gave us a great match. “For me, I’ve been waiting 12 years to come back here because at the last World Cup [in 2011] it was a shock to us – we didn’t know what to do. A bad hockey experience but the best learning experience we could have had, and 12 years later we are competing at a much higher level.” Meanwhile, Austria made it three wins from three by inflicting a first defeat of the tournament on Belgium. The defending champions were untroubled on their way to a clinical 5-1 victory. The Netherlands also notched up their third straight win, beating New Zealand 12-0, the largest winning margin of the tournament so far. Four of those Dutch goals were scored by man of the match Boris Burkhardt. Earlier in the day, Iran’s Reza Norouzzadeh notched up a second consecutive hattrick in a 10-goal thriller against Australia. Jake Sherren claimed a hattrick of his own, but it was to no avail as his Aussie side went down 6-4. Debutants Argentina were looking to continue their rip-roaring form with a third win in as many days when they took on the Czech Republic. After scoring from a penalty corner with just under three minutes remaining, it looked like they had done just that, only for Josef Trejbal to provide a final twist in the tale, slotting in the equaliser for the Czech Republic with less than 20 seconds on the clock to grab a 3-3 draw. Czech captain Martin Hanus was nevertheless disappointed with the result. “It’s only a point which is disappointing for us, especially after yesterday and Sunday’s game… we need to be more effective up front because that’s a weakness of ours so far, but we are capable of scoring goals so we just need to bring it and then it will be fine,” he said. 7 February 2023 Results Result: Match 13 – men Australia 4 – 6 Iran Player of the match: Behdad Beiranvand (IRI) Umpires: Lee Barron (ENG), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL) Result: Match 13 – women USA 2 – 2 South Africa Player of the match: Jess O’Connor (RSA) Umpires: Cathy Wright (WAL), Rachel Williams (ENG) Result: Match 14 – men South Africa 2 – 5 USA Player of the match: Jonathan Klages (USA) Umpires: Andres Ortiz (ESP), Emily Carroll (AUS) Result: Match 14 – women Australia 0 – 8 Netherlands Player of the match: Donja Zwinkels (NED) Umpires: Ayden Shrives (RSA), Ornpimol Kittiteerasopon (THA) Result: Match 15 – men Argentina 3 – 3 Czech Republic Player of the match: Lukas Plochy (CZE) Umpires: Lee Barron (ENG), Adam Barry (AUS) Result: Match 15 – women New Zealand 2 – 4 Austria Player of the match: Miriam Gerö (AUT) Umpires: Cathy Wright (WAL), Lyndal Robertson (RSA) Result: Match 16 – men Kazakhstan 2 – 6 Namibia Player of the match: David Strauss (NAM) Umpires: Rachel Williams (ENG), Andres Ortiz (ESP) Result: Match 16 – women Canada 3 – 2 Czech Republic Player of the match: Samantha McCrory (CAN) Umpires: Narongtuch Subboonsong (THA), Ornpimol Kittiteerasopon (THA) Result: Match 17 – men Belgium 1 – 5 Austria Player of the match: Fabian Unterkircher (AUT) Umpires: Ayden Shrives (RSA), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL) Result: Match 17 – women Namibia 1 – 2 Ukraine Player of the

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The South African Indoor Hockey Men, powered by Tops at SPAR, were still feeling the effects of a bruising encounter with Czech Republic on Monday night as they returned to the park to take on the USA on Tuesday. Both teams knew a win would give them a wonderful position in lining up for the Quarter-Finals. South Africa got the best possible start when they were awarded a penalty stroke early on. Mustapha Cassiem stood up and fired the ball home superbly past Klages. It was a lead that wouldn’t last long as Klages reacted first to fire home and before the end of the first quarter he had a second and the US had a lead. South Africa had a golden opportunity to pull level as a stroke was awarded again but Klages went the right way and denied the South African hot shot. Mustapha may have been stopped from scoring but he provided the assist as a diving Ryan Julius levelled matters. But once again the South Africans were trailing as Stuart Kantwell was on hand to finish after an Anton van Loggerenberg save. The third quarter was a quarter of few opportunities with the South Africans and Americans cancelling each other out throughout the court. South Africa were chasing the game in the final quarter. And in chasing the game the South Africans were caught out. USA Star Aki Kaeppeler made it 4-2 and when South Africa pulled their keeper Pat Harris made it 5-2 to secure the result for the North Americans and send the South Africans back to the drawing board.   Source: SAHockey.co.za | February 7, 2023

The SPAR South Africa Women’s Hockey team took on USA for the first time since 2015 at the Heartfelt Arena today. Their Pool A encounter was also a chance for either team to get an upper hand in the battle for a quarter final spot The South Africans put in a massive effort last night against the Netherlands and that was evident in the early exchanges as the South Africans were unable to find what they needed. While the South Africans couldn’t raise the pace the Americans were loving the occasion and looking to inspire through 14-year-old Reece D’Ariano. While South Africa had the lion’s share of the possession, they were unable to much with it and USA looked more dangerous on attack. They turned the danger into a lead when Hannah Miller stepped into a pocket of space and fired home past Greyvenstein. With South Africa failing to convert from their penalty corners the score remained 1-0 at the half time break. While that would have been a bad scenario for the hosts, it got worse after the break when D’Ariano picked up the ball on the base line and fired it across goal with Greyvenstein unable to make a save that she would have been disappointed to miss. But the hosts showed South African fighting spirit and came back into the match with a great determination. They found themselves level through Tegan Fourie who showed tremendous tenacity to score her 51st international indoor goal. The game was crying out for a captain’s contribution, and it came from Jess O’Connor. She effected a number of turnovers, forced her way into the circle and on the reverse forced the ball home. Despite a big effort from both teams there would be no winner and the point were shared.   Source: SAHockey.co.za | February 7, 2023

February 6, 2023 Hosts South Africa joined the Ukrainian women’s team and the Iranian men in notching up their first victories of the tournament on another action-packed day at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria, South Africa. A fiercely contested encounter saw South African firecracker Mustapha Cassiem scoring five goals in his side’s impressive 8-4 victory over the fourth-ranked Czech Republic. “Of course I’m happy to get five on the board but ultimately it’s not about me – that’s our team motto – it’s not about me, it’s about the team. It’s about a nation that’s fighting to get better in the hockey world so we’re really happy to get the three points and really privileged to get on the scoresheet,” said an ecstatic Cassiem after the fiery match. It was an emotional 3-0 victory for the third-ranked Ukrainians over Belgium after the disappointment of a draw in their opening match. “We are really happy because we really expected to win yesterday but it was a draw, so we really gave a lot for this win,” said Ukrainian captain Yevheniia Moroz. It’s been a tough journey for the team to prepare for the tournament in war-torn Ukraine. “We do have training but it’s not like we have it usually because sometimes it’s interrupted by sirens, and we have to go to the basement for as long as we can hear the alarms,” explained Moroz. “So we do have training but not as good as usual. “It’s really tough to be at any kind of tournament because half of our hearts are still at home with our families. We are focused during the match but afterwards we are there at home… When I hear our national anthem, I cannot hold my emotions inside.” Meanwhile, Iran’s men had a battle on their hands against the USA. After Iran raced to a 2-0 lead by the third minute, the Americans slowly worked their way back into the match and managed to level matters at 3-3 towards the end of the first half. But Iranian keeper Sasan Hataminejad produced a spectacular performance to prevent any more goals, saving two strokes and keeping the determined Americans at bay. Having taken off their own keeper in the dying minutes of the match to boost their scoring chances, the USA conceded three quick goals and the ultimate score of 8-3 was far from an accurate reflection of the hard-fought contest, Reza Norouzzadeh completing his hattrick in the process. Speaking about coming back from their shock loss to debutants Argentina on the opening day, Iranian captain Behdad Beiranvand said: “Yesterday was very bad, our tactics and systems were very bad but today was very good and we used our opportunities. “The American team was a very good team but the Iranian team I think were better. I hope in the next games Iran get even better.” During the day, there were second-straight victories for the Czech, Austrian, Dutch and Australian women as well as the Austrian, Dutch, Belgian and Argentinian men. Belgian captain Philippe Simar was once again in prolific form, scoring three more goals against New Zealand to add to his tally of five from the opening day. After conceding in the first minute of the match, New Zealand, back in the World Cup fold after an absence of 20 years, did well to hold back the Belgian onslaught, trailing by just one goal heading into the final period. But then the floodgates opened with the Belgians scoring four more in the final 10 minutes to secure a 7-2 win. “That’s my thing – I have to score goals. I don’t defend very well so that’s my target,” admitted Simar. “I think I am doing it well until now but I think it’s the team that’s defending very, very well so I have the opportunity to score the goals thanks to the team.” Also notching up hattricks on day two of the action were Schut Wiegert in the Netherlands men’s 9-1 win over Kazakhstan and Natalia Novakova in the Czech Republic’s 8-2 victory over the Kazakhstan women. Novakova said: “I’m very happy but it’s all about the team, not the last shooter… Our tournament began really well, and I think now we’re just going up and up and up, but I think we should still run harder and not be lazy.” By the end of the second day of the tournament, the Netherlands and Czech Republic topped the respective women’s pools while the Netherlands and Argentina are top of the two men’s pools. 6 February 2023 Results   Result: Match 7 – men Austria 2 – 0 Namibia Player of the match: Fabian Unterkircher (Austria) Umpires: Adam Barry (AUS), Emily Carroll (AUS)   Result: Match 7 – women  Canada 2 – 2 Namibia Player of the match: Alison Lee (Canada) Umpires: Cathy Wright (WAL), Sean Edwards (ENG)   Result: Match 8 – men Netherlands 9 – 1 Kazakhstan Player of the match: Schut Wiegert (Netherlands) Umpires: Melina Illanes (ARG), Lee Barron (ENG)   Result: Match 8 – women Czech Republic 8 – 2 Kazakhstan Player of the match: Natalie Novakova (Czech Republic) Umpires: Diego Barbas (ARG), Rachel Williams (ENG)   Result: Match 9 – men New Zealand 2 – 7 Belgium Player of the match: Philippe Simar (Belgium) Umpires: Andres Ortiz (ESP), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)   Result: Match 9 – women Ukraine 3 – 0 Belgium Player of the match:  Karyna Leonova Umpires: Cathy Wright (WAL), Sophie Bockelmann (GER)   Result: Match 10 – men Argentina 3 – 1 Australia Player of the match: Juan Eleicegui Umpires: Lee Barron (ENG), Sean Edwards (ENG)   Result: Match 10 – women Austria 2 – 1 USA Player of the match: Fiona Felber Umpires: Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL), Melina Illanes (ARG)   Result: Match 11 – men Iran 8 – 3 USA Player of the match: Sasan Hataminejad (Iran) Umpires: Diego Barbas (ARG), Celine Martin-Schmets (BEL)   Result: Match 11 – women Netherlands 3 – 1 South Africa Player of the match:

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February 5, 2023 An impressive total of 84 goals were scored across the opening 12 games of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria, South Africa as there were victories for Argentina, USA, Netherlands, defending champions Austria and Belgium in the men’s tournament and for Austria, Australia, Netherlands, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic in the women’s event. Debutants Argentina enjoyed the best possible introduction to the men’s tournament, winning their opening match against 2018 bronze medallists Iran. The Iranians raced to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter after Mohammad Karimi was on target with his penalty corner strikes, first slotting into the top left corner and then the top right. Facundo Navarro then earned his place in history as the scorer of the Argentinian men’s first-ever goal at an FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup. The Iranians came back to take a 3-1 lead by half time but the determined debutants would not go away without a fight. Four second-half goals to Iran’s one, including a second from Navarro, ensured the Argentinians claimed a remarkable 5-4 victory. “It’s amazing. I can’t believe it – it’s a dream come true,” said Navarro afterwards. “I don’t have words to explain it… it was just amazing.” His coach, former Italian international Massimo Lanzano, added: “I think the most important focus during this match was the mind. Our boys stayed in the match every minute. “This gives us a lot of confidence of course… We have to enjoy this moment but also think about the next match.” Meanwhile, facing an even more daunting task in their opening match were fellow debutants, the New Zealand women’s team, who faced off against 2018 silver medallists, the Netherlands. While the Kiwi defence put in a valiant effort, the Netherlands, who are among the title favourites in Pretoria, were untroubled in notching up a double-digit score. Captain Donja Zwinkels scored five goals as the Dutch cruised to a 10-0 victory. “For me it doesn’t really matter how many times I score but I think we did a really good job as a team. I’m really proud of how we started and I’m so excited for the rest of the tournament,” said Zwinkels. New Zealand captain Pippa Norman was determined not to be too negative about the result after their first-ever World Cup match. “It’s a tricky one coming up against one of the best teams in the world but that’s what playing sport is all about. We’re obviously the new kids on the block and if we come to a World Cup we expect to play against the best teams in the world,” she said. “So, although the scoreline might look big for everyone else, there are plenty of positives that we can take away… Lots of good things happened and we look forward to building on that in the next week.” Earlier in the day it was the South African women’s and men’s teams that got the tournament underway. The SA women took on Austria while the men took on Australia. It seemed fitting that the first goal of the tournament came from the host nation’s women’s captain Jess O’Connor. The evenly contested encounter saw the teams matching each other goal for goal until Marta Laginja scored her second, and Austria’s third goal with just two minutes to go. But it was Stella van Rahden who proved to be the star for the seventh-ranked Austrians, saving a penalty stroke awarded to the South Africans in the dying seconds to secure the 3-2 victory. Mustapha Cassiem scored a brace for the South African men’s team to take a 2-0 lead against Australia. But it was captain Jethro Eustice who scored the all-important third goal, after the Aussies came back at them, to earn a 3-all draw for the home team. At just 14 years old, it was an opening match to remember for American teen sensation Reese D’Ariano who scored two of the USA women’s goals in their match against Australia. The Americans eventually went down 4-2, but there was a hattrick for D’Ariano’s compatriot Marius Leser on his Indoor Hockey World Cup debut in the USA men’s 4-3 upset victory over the fourth-ranked Czech Republic. The other hattricks of the day came from the Netherlands men’s Max Sweering in his side’s 7-1 win over Namibia, with three Dutch goals scored in the final four minutes, and Austria’s Fabian Unterkircher in the defending champions’ 7-1 win over New Zealand. Belgium’s captain Philippe Simar then also got in on the act in the final match of the night, scoring five goals in his team’s victory over Kazakhstan by exactly the same margin of 7-1. After the South African men drew with Australia, the only other draw of the day was registered in the women’s tournament between third-ranked Ukraine and a resolute Canadian side, ranked 16th in the world. After the first day of entertaining action in Pretoria, the Netherlands top Pool A in the women’s tournament and the Czech Republic find themselves atop Pool B. In the men’s tournament Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands all share top spot in Pool A while Pool B is topped by Argentina. 5 February 2023 Results Result: Match 1 – women Austria 3 – 2 South Africa Result: Match 1 – men Australia 3 – 3 South Africa Result Match 2 – women Australia 4 – 2 USA Result Match 2 – men Iran 4 – 5 Argentina Result Match 3 – women Netherlands 10 – 0 New Zealand Result Match 3 – men Czech Republic 3 – 4 USA Result Match 4 – women Namibia 3 – 5 Kazakhstan Result Match 4 – men Netherlands 7 – 1 Namibia Result Match 5 – women Ukraine 1 – 1 Canada Result Match 5 – men Austria 7 – 1 New Zealand Result Match 6 – women Czech Republic 6 – 1 Belgium Result Match 6 – men Belgium 7 – 1 Kazakhstan #IHWC2023 #IndoorWorldCup #HockeyEquals

February 5, 2023 Having watched the South African Women go down to a narrow defeat in their opener, the South African Indoor Hockey Men, powered by Tops at SPAR, were determined to give themselves a winning start as they took on 2018 fourth place finishers Australia. They couldn’t have asked for a better start. Lungani Gabela’s shot was rebounded to Chad Futcher who shaped to shoot but was taken out and a penalty stroke was awarded. Mustapha Cassiem stepped up to fire home his 53rd international indoor goal. Elation and jubilation doubled up for the South Africans when Cassiem made it 54 reacting to a goal bound effort that sneaked off to him. His goal delighted the home crowd. The Australians though have a tenacious fighting spirit and found their way back into the game. Ben Staines pulling a goal back for the Australians just before the half-time break. In the third quarter Jake Sherren levelled matters with a well struck penalty corner into the top corner. For the South Africans the frustrations grew as Australia completed a superb turnaround with Jack Staines scoring on a counterattack right on the hooter to give the Australians the lead. The South Africans had a few half chances but were looking to raise the tempo and precision in the final quarter of the game. They did exactly that as they asked questions on a continuous basis, and they eventually found the answer through their inspirational captain Jethro Eustice who fired home from a penalty corner for his fourth historical Indoor Hockey World Cup goal. The South Africans continued to look for a winner but were unable and ultimately the two teams settled for a draw. Source: SAHockey.co.za

February 5, 2023 The historic FIH indoor Hockey World Cup, presented by SPAR, got started at the Heartfelt Arena in South Africa. An almost capacity crowd created a cauldron of noise as the South Africans and Austrians locked horns at a World Cup for the first time since 2007. It was the SPAR South African Women who got the game to a raucous start and rewarded through for their efforts with an opening goal from captain Jess O’Connor. Playing in her 125th test cap the South African captain fired home from the Penalty Corner to send the crowd into a frenzy. The hosts had a couple of half chances but were disappointed that they couldn’t add to the score line as the Europeans gained in confidence in the game and produced and spirited fightback to level before the half time break. A penalty corner was fired home from a tight angle by Buchta and the scores were level at the break. Marta Laginja gave the Austrians their first lead of the game in the 25th minute with a penalty corner goal. Her first shot was well saved by Cheree Greyvenstein before the second nestled its way into the back of the net on the far post. But the South Africans showed characteristic fighting spirit pulling level through a piece of brilliance from Kayla de Waal. Her individual run saw the keeper sent the wrong way before her finish lifted the roof off the Heartfelt Arena. Despite their best efforts the South Africans were trailing again. Laginja fired in another blistering strike and the disappointed was etched on the crowd with two minutes remaining in the game. The South Africans though continued to fight and thought they had levelled through Kayla de Waal. Unfortunately the ball had been lifted and the goal was rightfully chalked off. South Africa were given the golden opportunity to level with a penalty stroke awarded after the hooter. Tegan Fourie’s shot was strong but was brilliantly saved to secure a victory for the Austrians and disappointment for the South Africans. Source: SAHockey.co.za

04 February, 2023 Pretoria, South Africa: With just 1 day to go for the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup South Africa 2023, the players and coaches of the men’s and women’s teams have spoken to express their expectations. Men’s Teams  Martin Hanus, Captain (Czech Republic) “We are pleased to come to the IHWC once again after such a long time. The group is perfectly mixed as there are six teams from six continents. That makes the group stage very interesting as we are going to take on teams we did not have a chance to play yet. The crossover is a must for us and will probably bring one of the more known opponents as there are the European teams more represented.” Trevor Cormack, Head Coach (Namibia) “As the Namibia Men’s Hockey Team we want to share our Namibian brand and style of Indoor Hockey with the World as well as Enjoy and Love every single moment of doing just that.” Maxime Bergez, Head Coach (Belgium) “Don’t wait for an opportunity, create it.” – George Bernard Shaw Jethro Ray Eustice, Captain (South Africa) “We are truly excited for the opportunity to be a part of the first African FIH IHWC, which will be held in South Africa, and believe we have the potential to create history for our country and achieve a top 6 result at this event.” Steve Willer, Head Coach (Australia) “We are excited to be playing at the Indoor World Cup in South Africa. A new and different experience from previous World Cups. As a team we are focused on taking the next step and improving from our 2018 performance in Berlin. The Indoor World Cup in South Africa will be an amazing event and the whole team is looking forward to stepping up to the challenges it will bring and proving ourselves on the world stage against the best.” Dean Armstrong, Captain (New Zealand) “We’re excited and proud to be back on the world stage after 20 years away. We’re under no illusions about the challenge ahead, but we’ve come here with a great group who are eager to learn and grow. We think that if we can control our performance well, and improve from quarter to quarter, then we’ll have an enjoyable and productive week.” Robin Rösch, Head Coach (Austria) “We are the European and World Champions, but each match is a new challenge, so we have to perform in each match. We are curious about what will happen, but we are also full of hope.” Robert Tigges, Head Coach (Netherlands) “It’s great to be here in South Africa for the World Cup, we had a strong preparation and are ready to compete and are really excited to start this tournament on Sunday!” Massimo Lanzano – Head Coach (Argentina) “All the teams in group B have different styles of play and different realities. We are going to face them with a lot of humility and confidence in our work game by game. We want to surprise and our first objective is to get into the quarterfinals.” Women’s Teams Gaye Tarrant, Head Coach (New Zealand) “I feel unbelievably privileged to have been given the opportunity to Coach the New Zealand Women’s team to their first Indoor Hockey World Cup. The experience will be invaluable to the players as they move back into International Indoor hockey after an extended hiatus. The team has worked hard over a very quick campaign so I am excited to see their development over the tournament.” Emma McLeish and Lizzy Duguid, Co-captains (Australia) “The group is excited to finally be able to test ourselves against the best in the world after a lengthy preparation due to COVID. Being able to share the experience with this group of girls is something we both cherish and can not wait to take the field together.” Yevheniia Moroz, Captain (Ukraine) “We are extremely happy to be part of this World cup for sure we will give everything from our brave hearts.” Corinna Zerbs, Head Coach (Austria) “We are excited to be a part of this world cup that is the first one to be played outside of Europe. We are a young team and our aim is to get to the semi-finals first and take it from there and win a medal, hopefully in the finals.” Shank Premakanthan, Head Coach (Canada) “The opportunity to compete at a World Cup is always a great honour. Although we have a very young team, I am proud of the progress this group continues to make & the positive strides we continue to take. I am excited to see what this group can do against the world’s best.” Maximiliano Garreta, Head Coach (Belgium) “Enjoy the journey. Enjoy every moment and quit worrying about Winning or losing.” Jess O’Connor, Captain (South Africa) “We are feeling excited. There are some good nerves, we are well prepared after a tough test series. We know we can compete with the best nations in the world and we want to bring it to the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup” Magreth Mengo, Captain (Namibia) “We are super thrilled to play on the African Soil. We are keen to really compete and leave a legacy at this world cup. For us It’s not about how much experience you have or how mentally tough you are. It’s about trust and belief! We trust and believe in God and we trust and believe in each other as a team!” Annie McDonough, Captain (USA) “We are so grateful to be here and look forward to showing the world how this young American team can work together to succeed.” Katerina Lacina, Captain (Czech Republic) “We are dreaming about a medal again. That feeling with the bronze medal in 2015 was something special.” The sixth edition of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup will start on 5 February, in Pretoria, South Africa. All information about the tournament is available here.

The 12 best men’s and women’s teams from around the world are converging in Pretoria, South Africa as we countdown to the final few days till the start of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup South Africa 2023! Each team comes with the aim of becoming indoor hockey world champions, but only one team can earn the highest honour at the end of the World Cup. The first obstacle for all 12 teams in both men’s and women’s category, come in the form of their pool opponents. The top-4 teams in each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals with the teams finishing in the bottom two spots in their pool getting eliminated from the quest for the title. In today’s preview, meet the teams in Pool B of the men’s competition, and find out the unique playing styles they will bring to the World Cup. Argentina Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 20 Indoor World Cup history: Debutants About the Team: Argentina are the current Indoor Pan American champions, having lifted the title in June 2021 thanks to a 4-2 victory over host nation USA in Spring City, Philadelphia. The South Americans finished top of the pile in a three-nation competition also featuring Canada, with Facundo Navarro and Agustin Ceballos both scoring four times in the event. Navarro and Ceballos feature in the initial squad named for Pretoria alongside Juan Eleicegui, who scored three times at the 2021 Indoor Pan Ams and gets the honour of captaining Argentina at their first ever Indoor World Cup. The team is coached by former Italy international Massimo Lanzano, with ex-Argentina outdoor star Guillermo ‘Willy’ Schickendantz taking the role of team manager. Australia Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 10 Indoor World Cup history: 2003 – 8th, 2007 – 8th, 2011 – 7th, 2015 – 10th, 2018 – 4th. About the Team: Australia have featured in every edition of the Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup played to date, earning a reputation as a team to be feared. They produced a series of outstanding performances at the 2018 Indoor World Cup event in Berlin, Germany, storming into the semi-finals before suffering a narrow 2-1 loss at the hands of eventual champions Austria. Defeat to Iran in the bronze medal match was a painful ending for the inspirational Aussies, who proved definitively that they can mix it with the very best. Three players from Berlin 2018 have been selected for the 2023 competition in Pretoria, with James Knee, Jake Sherren and goalkeeper Ben Rennie –competing in his third Indoor World Cup – being given their chance by head coach Steve Willer, who was also in charge of the team in Berlin. The squad contains twin brothers Ben and Jake Staines, who will both be looking to make a big impression at their first Indoor World Cup competition. Czech Republic Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 4 Indoor World Cup history: 2003 – 7th, 2007 – 4th, 2011 – 8th, 2015 – 9th, 2018 – 5th. About the Team: As two-time European indoor silver medallists (1997, 2012) and fifth place finishers at the Berlin 2018 Indoor World Cup, Czech Republic have a solid reputation in this event. The team were in action in December’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship competition in Hamburg, Germany, but finished bottom of the standings in sixth position. However, with a squad containing numerous high quality, vastly experienced players, they should not be underestimated. Thirty-somethings Tomas Prochazka and Martin Hanus and 47-year-old goalkeeper Pavel Hraba – a participant at the inaugural Indoor Hockey World Cup in 2003 in Leipzig, Germany – all know what it takes to compete at this level and will be keen to remind the world of their abilities. A player to watch is Lukas Plochy, who is capable of scoring from penalty corners and open play. Iran Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 3 Indoor World Cup history: 2011 – 9th, 2015 – 4th, 2018 – 3rd About the Team: With a swashbuckling playing style and blessed with some truly outstanding individuals, Iran will rightly be considered as one of the competition favourites in Pretoria. Since recording a ninth-place finish on their event debut at Poznan 2011, Iran have improved at every subsequent tournament, finishing fourth at Leipzig 2015 before claiming a sensational bronze medal at Berlin 2018 with a crushing 5-0 victory over Australia. Iran have won the Men’s Indoor Hockey Asia Cup a record eight times, but are not the current title holders, having finally lost their crown in 2022 when Malaysia claimed a shoot-out victory after the final finished with the scores locked at 4-4. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Iran, who had dominated the competition with six wins out of six prior to the gold medal match, inspired by the form of Amirmahdi Mirzakhani, who finished competition top scorer with 13 goals in seven matches. Will 2023 be their year? South Africa Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 11 Indoor World Cup history: 2003 – 10th, 2007 – 11th, 2015 – 11th, 2018 – 11th. About the Team: Tournament hosts South Africa have competed in four of the five previous editions of the men’s Indoor World Cup, having only missed the 2011 event in Poznan, Poland. Their 10th place finish at Leipzig 2003, the inaugural edition, remains their highest placement to date, an achievement that they will be determined to surpass in front of their home supporters in Pretoria. The team were crowned continental champions at the 2021 Men’s Indoor Africa Cup, defeating Namibia 4-1 thanks to goals from Mustaphaa Cassiem, Chad Futcher (2) and Jethro Eustice. Mustaphaa Cassiem scored 18 goals in the competition, with older brother Dayaan Cassiem bagging 16 and being named as the player of the tournament. The Cassiem brothers, Futcher and Eustice have all been named in South Africa’s Indoor World Cup squad and will do everything in their power to thrill the home fans at the Heartfelt Arena. United States Current FIH Indoor World Ranking: 19 Indoor World Cup history: 2003 –

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