Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, and Germany qualify for q-finals
LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND): Day 4 of the World Cup decided the fate of a few teams with India and South Africa bowing out of the competition, while four other teams from Pool A & C secured their spots in the top 8, reports FIH,
Belgium secured a last-gasp victory over India in a thrilling contest to top the table in Pool C, while Germany recorded a big win over Canada to seal the second place in Pool C.
In Pool A, Australia and Netherlands who had almost cemented their place in the quarterfinals made sure that they finished on a high defeating South Africa and Chile by big margins.
All these four teams have secured their places in the quarterfinals while the teams finishing third and fourth in their respective pools will have to play the classification matches for the 9th to 16th place.
A quick round-up of all the matches on Day 4 of the World Cup in Chile!
Pool C - Belgium vs India (Full-Time Score: 3-2)
It was an exciting start to the day with India and Belgium kicking off Day 4 with a nail-biter. Noa Schreurs opened the scoring for Belgium in the 5th minute via a field goal. It was then an evenly contested game with both teams trying to create scoring opportunities.
France De Mot scored another goal for Belgium doubling up their lead, but it was then India's star player in this competition, Annu, who got back India into the game with a brace within five minutes. However, a winning goal from Astrid Bonami in the 52nd minute dashed India's hopes of finishing on top of Pool C.
"We were probably in one of the most difficult groups, and to win all the three matches is incredible. There was a bit of panic in the last quarter with India scoring two goals but we are happy that we held on to our nerves and won the game", said Player of the Match Noa Schreurs.
Pool C - Germany vs Canada (Full-Time Score: 8-0)
It was a goal fest in the second match of the day as Germany beat Canada 8-0. Laura Pluth and skipper Lilly Stoffelsma both scored hat-tricks, while Katharina Haid and Joana Boehringer netted one each.
Germany dominated the entire match as they earned 14 penalty corners and penetrated into the opponents circle a plethora of times. With this win, Germany finished second, below Belgium in Pool C while Canada finished at the bottom with zero wins out of three.
Player of the Match and the skipper of the team Lilly Stoffelsma was ecstatic with how her team performed. "Although we didn't have a great start to the tournament, we are back on track and would want to continue with the same form", said Lilly.
Pool A - Australia vs South Africa (Full-Time Score: 4-0)
Stacia Strain’s team finished with two wins and a loss in the pool stages as they beat South Africa in a lop-sided affair in their last league match of the World Cup. It was Makayla Jones who opened the scoring for the Aussies with a sharp finish in the 4th minute.
Australia got 11 penalty corners but were only able to convert one, thanks to the brilliance of South African custodian Morgan De Jager. With three loses in three matches, South Africa finished at the bottom of Pool A.
Player of the Match Hannah Cullum-Sanders who scored a brace for Australia spoke to the media after the match and expressed her satisfaction with the team’s performance so far. Although they had a few hiccups at the start of the tournament, they have been able to fill in the gaps and perform as a team.
Pool A - Netherlands vs Chile (Full-Time Score: 7-0)
It was a similar match between these two teams as one of the world’s most feared sides in women’s hockey, Netherlands, blanked the hosts 7-0. They were on song from the word go, scoring three goals in the first ten minutes.
The Netherlands finished on the top of the Pool A, and qualified for the quarterfinals along with Australia, while South Africa and Chile will complete in the 9th-16th place qualification matches.
“It was a good last game for us before we get into the quarterfinals. All of us got to play their bit of hockey and did a kind of good preparation for the big games ahead, ” said Trijntje Beljaars, who scored a brace for the Netherlands in this match.
Results:
Belgium 3-2 India
Player of the Match: Noa Schreurs (BEL)
Umpires: Melissa Taylor (RSA) and Jianjun Chen (CHN)
Germany 8-0 Canada
Player of the Match: Lilly Stoffelsma (GER)
Umpires: Durga Devi (IND) and Junko Wagatsuma (JPN)
Australia 4-0 South Africa
Player of the Match: Hannah Cullum-Sanders (AUS)
Umpires: Magali Sergeant (BEL) and Minami Inamoto (JPN)
Netherlands 7-0 Chile
Player of the Match: Trijntje Beljaars (NED)
Umpires: Sandra Adell (ESP) and Veronica Villafane (ARG),