BEST PLAYER Melissa Gonzalez (USA) Captain America Melissa Gonzalez led her team to glory in Johannesburg. Dominating games with her athleticism and passion, she inspired her team to their best finishes at a top level event in recent years. Like goalkeeper Jackie Briggs, Gonzalez proved crucial in both the semi-final and final shootout, her goals firing USA to victory.   BEST JUNIOR PLAYER Nike Lorenz (GER) Germany are a team on the up and much of their success has been influenced by an injection of gifted youth into this exciting team. One of the many exceptional talents at this event was German wonderkid Nike Lorenz. Solid in defence, the 20 year-old plays beyond her years, breaking up opposition attacks time and time again with typical German efficiency. Despite their loss in the final, with Nike Lorenz at the back the future of German women’s hockey looks to be in safe hands.   BEST GOALKEEPER Jackie Briggs (USA) Experienced ‘keeper Jackie Briggs was consistently brilliant for the United States. Her reliability and command in goal provided a solid base for the US women to build upon. Despite outstanding shot-stopping throughout the event, her standout moments came during the shootouts against England in the semi-final and Germany in the final. Her heroics, combined with some excellent finishing from her team-mates, won USA this event for the first time in their history.   TOP SCORER Jill Witmer (USA) Her four field goals and one penalty corner were key to USA’s road to victory. The 25-year-old striker will certainly be an asset for USA for many years to come. Her tireless running is key to opening up spaces and creating opportunities for her team, which, in addition to her clinical finishing in front of goal made her one of the most dangerous players at this event.  

July 22, 2017 Johannesburg, South Africa: Ireland’s Green Machine are now certain of a place at next year’s Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, having beaten New Zealand’s Black Sticks 1-0 in the 5-6 classification match on the penultimate day of action at the Hockey World League Semi-Final in South Africa. The team coached by Craig Fulton started well before enduring a huge amount of pressure from the New Zealanders, with Ireland’s defence making numerous telling saves to keep their opponents off the score-sheet. Ireland scored what proved to be the winner in the 49th minute, with Alan Sothern chipping into the goal after an excellent save from Black Sticks shot-stopper Devon Manchester. The Irish defence held firm in the latter stages, ensuring that Ireland’s men will compete in their first World Cup since 1990. “I’m over the moon”, said Ireland captain Jonny Bell after the match. “The shift that the guys put in out there was absolutely fantastic. It wasn’t the best hockey but that doesn’t really matter because we’ve reached the World Cup. I’m delighted.” The women’s 5-6 classification match was won by South Africa, ended their home tournament on a high with a 2-1 triumph over Japan’s Cherry Blossoms. Although both teams entered the contest knowing that their place at next year’s Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 was already assured, the two sides gave it everything in a bid to finish as high in the standings as possible. A big crowd witnessed the home team’s final performance in this event and they were not to be disappointed, with South Africa opening up a 2-0 lead in the second quarter thanks to a Lilian du Plessis’ penalty stroke and a well worked field goal from Tarry Glasby. Yuri Nagai dragged Japan back into to the contest just after half time, but South Africa saw out the win. In the 7-8 classification matches, the women of Ireland scored twice in the final quarter to defeat India 2-1 in a highly entertaining and dramatic contest. Gurjit Kaur put India ahead with a penalty corner rocket at the end of the first quarter, while Ireland looked set to go even further behind when goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was sent to the sin bin for bringing down an Indian attacker. Remarkably, reserve goalkeeper Grace O’Flanagan came off the bench to save the subsequent penalty stroke with her first touch, denying India’s Rani with wonderful stick save. The two crucial blows struck by the Green Army came just a minute apart, with captain Katie Mullan producing a wonderful penalty corner deflection before Lizzy Colvin smashed home a glorious winner from the top of the circle. The result enhances Irish hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup, although this is dependant on outcomes of the upcoming Continental Championships. France triumphed 3-0 against Egypt in the men’s 7-8 play-off, boosting their own hopes of taking a place at the World Cup should results at those Continental Championships go their way. Team captain Victor Charlet put his side ahead with a sixth minute penalty corner drag-flick but had to wait until the end of the third quarter before doubling their advantage, with Hugo Genestet scoring from the penalty spot. Blaise Roseau scored the third and final goal of the match with a crisp backhand effort, ensuring that France ended their competition on a winning note. “We were very happy with the victory against Egypt, who are a very tough side”, said France’s Victor Charlet after the match. “We hope that this has given us a chance to play in the World Cup, but we will have to wait and see.” Sunday 23rd July is finals day, with both the men’s and the women’s competitions drawing to a close. The 3-4 classification matches kick off proceedings with England’s women taking on Argentina at 11:00 South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2), with the men’s 3-4 meeting between Australia and Spain getting underway at 13:15. USA and Germany will take to the field for the women’s final at 15:30, before Belgium and Germany contest the men’s final at 18:00. Hockey World League Semi-Finals – Johannesburg, South Africa Saturday 22nd July 2017 Women’s 7-8: India 1, Ireland 2 Women’s 5-6: Japan 1, South Africa 2 Men’s 7-8: Egypt 0, France 3 Men’s 5-6: New Zealand 0, Ireland 1 Fixtures and timings All times South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2) Sunday 23rd July 2017 11:00: England v Argentina (Women 3/4) 13:15: Australia v Spain (Men 3/4) 15:30: USA v Germany (Women Final) 18:00: Belgium v Germany (Men Final)   Classification Men 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: Ireland 6: New Zealand 7: France 8: Egypt 9: South Africa 10: Japan Classification Women 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: South Africa 6: Japan 7: Ireland 8: India 9: Chile 10: Poland Source: FIH  

July 21, 2017 Friday 21 July marks one year to go until the Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 gets underway at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. With the public ticket ballot set to open on 19 August and the final teams qualifying over the next few weeks, excitement is really beginning to grow ahead of this blockbuster event. Register for Public Ticket Ballot Following the conclusion of the semi-final stage of the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday, 11 teams have guaranteed qualification thanks to their final standings in both World Cup qualifying events. Hosts England await the arrival of reigning champions Netherlands as well as China, New Zealand, Korea and Australia who finished in the top five spots at the FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final in Brussels, Belgium. The second Hockey World League Semi-Final, in Johannesburg, South Africa, saw Argentina, Germany, USA, Japan and South Africa book their tickets to London after finishing top of the standings there. Whilst the top five teams are guaranteed qualification for the women’s World Cup, England’s qualification for the semi-final stages in Johannesburg meant that they will finish in the top four. With Japan and South Africa playing in the fifth versus sixth classification match on Saturday 22 July, both teams have guaranteed qualification for London due to the fact that the highest ranked sixth place finisher in Brussels was Italy (16) who are ranked lower than both Japan (11) and South Africa (13)*. The remaining five World Cup qualifiers will be the winners of the Continental Championships taking place between August and November 2017. If one of the continental winners has already qualified through the Hockey World League then teams will qualify based on their final position at the Semi-Finals and their respective FIH Hero World Ranking (as of 1 August 2017) compared to one another. With more than two thirds of teams now qualified, fans can now bid to secure tickets to the event through England Hockey’s Public Ballot and can pre-register before 19 August 2017. Finals, Semi-Finals and England matches will sell out so we urge you not to wait if you want to be there to witness the drama. On 19 August 2017 all fans who have pre-registered for the women’s World Cup in London will receive an email with a link through to the Ballot tickets website. There will also be a link on this site through to the ballot entry pages from 19 August. The public will be able to apply for as many matches as they want. Tickets to matches will be limited to six per England session. Applicants can tick an “upgrade me” box, which will enter them into the ballot for the next price category if unsuccessful in their first request. The Public Ballot will close on 6 September 2017. Payment will only be taken if ticket requests are successful after the Public Ballot closes. Successful applicants will be selected at random. For additional information about the Women’s World Cup and the Public Ballot, check out our Q&A. Find out who will take the remaining spots in the Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 by following the Continental Championships through FIH.ch over the coming weeks as well as through our social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. *Rankings as of 10 April 2017 Source: FIH

July 21, 2017 Johannesburg, South Africa: The men’s final at the Hockey World League Semi-Final will be contested between Germany and Belgium following another dramatic day of action at the University of the Witwatersrand. It was also a hugely significant day for New Zealand and Ireland, who claimed wins to take their places in the 5-6 classification match, the winner of which will be guaranteed a place at the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. Germany (FIH Hero World Ranking: 3) were the first team to reach Sunday’s showpiece final, fighting back from a goal down against Spain (WR: 10) to tie the match before winning a tense sudden-death shoot-out. Die Honamas were made to work extremely hard to replicate the achievement of Germany’s women in reaching their event final, with Ricardo Sanchez putting the Spaniards ahead at the end of the first quarter. Germany’s equaliser did not arrive until five minutes from the end when Ferdinand Weinke smashed home from a tight angle to force the shoot-out. The two sides were locked together at 2-2 after ten shoot-out attempts, with Sergi Enrique and Mats Grambusch making it 3-3 before the telling moment arrived. Spain’s Enrique Gonzalez – a young player who has had an outstanding tournament – failed to convert, with Christopher Rühr making no mistake to put his team into the final. Germany’s opponents in the final will be European rivals Belgium, a team the Germans defeated in the pool phase. However, the Red Lions will be looking to avenge that result following their hard-earned 2-1 victory over Australia’s Kookaburras. Belgium netted either side of half time through Cedric Charlier and Amaury Keusters before Jeremy Hayward slammed home an Australian penalty corner at the end of the third quarter. Australia’s Kiran Arunasalam had a goal ruled out in the final minute as Belgium clung on to set up an all-European event final. “It was a really exciting semi-final, both teams played pretty well and had some good opportunities even through to the last seconds of that game”, said Belgium Head Coach Shane McLeod. “It made for a really good match and now we play the final game, which is what we came here for.” In the 5-8 matches, Egypt (WR: 19) gave New Zealand (WR: 8) a run for their money before eventually being beaten 2-0. The Egyptians proved difficult to break down but eventually the Black Sticks got the breakthrough just after half time thanks to a high quality penalty corner routine expertly converted by Nick Haig. Kane Russell added a second ten minutes from the end with a penalty corner routine almost identical to the first, putting New Zealand into the 5-6 classification where that direct ticket to the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 is on the table. “It was a tough game for us today and we probably started a bit slowly, we would have liked to get some more out of our chances in the first half”, said Kane Russell post-match. “We were able to hang on and put two goals on the board which was good and we need to come out firing for our last game to make sure we finish fifth and qualify for the World Cup.” New Zealand’s opponents in that all important World Cup play-off match will be Ireland (WR: 9), who were taken to a shoot-out by France (WR: 17) before two times FIH Hockey Stars Goalkeeper of the Year David Harte made two important saves to see his side safely through. Hugo Genestet gave France the lead just five minutes into the match, an advantage that they held until late in the third quarter when Shane O’Donoghue netted a penalty stroke. In the shoot-out, goalkeeper Harte denied Guillaume Deront and Hugo Genestet before Chris Cargo scored the winner to keep his teams hopes of direct World Cup qualification alive. Earlier in the day, Austin Smith scored twice to help hosts South Africa (WR: 15) finish their competition on a high, beating Japan (WR: 16) 4-2 to take ninth place on the final standings. On Saturday 22nd July, the 5-8 classification positions in both the women’s and men’s competitions will be finalised. At 11:15 South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2), the women of India and Ireland will meet in the 7-8 classification match, with Japan and South Africa facing off at 13:30 in the women’s 5-6 contest. The attention then switches to the men’s 5-8 classification games, with Egypt playing France for seventh at 15:45, before New Zealand and Ireland take to the field at 18:00 for the battle for fifth place and the subsequent World Cup qualification ticket that comes with it. Hockey World League Semi-Finals – Johannesburg, South Africa Men’s 9-10, 5-8 and Semi-Final Results 9-10: Japan 2, South Africa 4 5-8: Egypt 0, New Zealand 2 5-8: Ireland 1, France 1 (4-3 after shoot-out) SF: Spain 1, Germany 1 (3-4 after shoot-out) SF: Australia 1, Belgium 2 Fixtures and timings All times South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2) Saturday 22nd July 2017 11:15: India v Ireland (Women 7/8) 13:30: Japan v South Africa (Women 5/6) 15:45: Egypt v France (Men 7/8) 18:00: New Zealand v Ireland (Men 5/6) Sunday 23rd July 2017 11:00: England v Argentina (Women 3/4) 13:15: Australia v Spain (Men 3/4) 15:30: USA v Germany (Women Final) 18:00: Belgium v Germany (Men Final) Source: FIH