Malaysia eliminated as Germany top Pool D on Day 12 of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018
Pakistan (WR:13) knew that by avoiding a heavy defeat against the Netherlands (WR:4) they would be certain of a place in the knock-out phase of the competition. A win against the Netherlands would be enough to move ahead of the Dutch into second place in the Pool, which would set-up a cross-over match against Canada, who finished third in Pool C, as opposed to Olympic silver medallists Belgium, Pool C’s second-placed finisher.
The Netherlands were first to make a mark on the scoreboard when Thierry Brinkman netted from close range just seven minutes into the contest, but two minutes later Pakistan’s Umar Bhutta restored parity from a second phase penalty corner situation, sliding the ball under the body of onrushing Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak from a tight angle.
Pakistan gave an excellent showing in the second period, but it was the Dutch who took a 2-1 lead into half time when a beautiful interchange between Valentin Verga and Odisha Player of the Match Seve Van Ass ended with the former firing a cool finish between the legs of Green Shirts shot-stopper Imran Butt.
The Netherlands confirmed a second-place finish in Pool D with three goals in the second half, with Jeroen Hertzberger supplying Bob de Voogd for an easy finish before Jorrit Croon forced home a penalty corner from close range. A 5-1 score-line was completed by Mink van der Weerden, who slammed a stunning penalty corner into the roof of the net. It was the final goal of the pool phase, with total number of goals scored so far in Bhubaneswar being 111.
Speaking after the match, Netherlands midfielder Robbert Kemperman said: “We played a very solid game. In the first two quarters Pakistan defended really well. It was difficult to find the gaps but we kept the pace high. I think we can be happy after this match.”
Looking ahead to his team’s cross-over match against Canada, Kemperman said: “The Canadian team is physically very strong. We don’t know much about them so we’re going to analyse them tomorrow.”
The knock-out phase of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 begins on Monday 10th December, with two cross-over play-off matches taking place. At 16:45 IST (UTC +5.30), England will play New Zealand, with the winner setting up a quarter-final meeting against Pool A winners and reigning Olympic champions Argentina on Wednesday 12 December. The second match on Monday sees France facing China, with Pool B winners and reigning world champions Australia lying in wait in the quarter-finals for the winner.
Looking ahead to England’s meeting with New Zealand, co-captain David Ames said: “We haven’t played them too many times over the last few years, but we’ve seen from this tournament that they have quality in all lines of their team. They have plenty of experienced players in their group and have some similar traits to Australia so we will have to be at our best if we want to progress into the quarter-finals.”
New Zealand’s Hugo Inglis indicated his respect for cross-over play-off opponents England, highlighting a player that the Black Sticks will need to keep under a watchful eye. “Barry Middleton from the English team is always one to watch”, said Inglis about a man with over 400 international caps to his name. He is vastly experienced and a skillful player so we will need to look after him.”
The Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 takes place between 28 November and 16 December. The Men’s World Cup is played every four years. For all information regarding the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, including the full schedule, teams, news and more, click here.Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018
Day 12 Results – 9 December 2018: Pool D
Malaysia 3, Germany 5
Odisha Player of the Match: Christopher Rühr (GER)
Netherlands 5, Pakistan 1
Odisha Player of the Match: Seve van Ass (NED)
Final Standings – Pool D
1: Germany (Qualified for quarter-finals)
2: Netherlands (Qualified for cross-over play-offs)
3: Pakistan (Qualified for cross-over play-offs)
4: Malaysia (Eliminated)
Classification phase
The cross-over matches will be as follows, although not necessarily played in this order.
10 December 2018
Match 2*: England (2nd Pool B) v New Zealand (3rd Pool A) – 16:45 IST
Match 1*: France (2nd Pool A) v China (3rd Pool B) – 1900 IST
11 December 2018
Match 3: Belgium (2nd Pool C) v Pakistan (3rd Pool D) – 16:45 IST
Match 4: Netherlands (2nd Pool D) v Canada (3rd Pool C) – 1900 IST
The winners of these matches will play in the quarter-finals, with the losing teams being eliminated. The quarter-finals will be as follows, although not necessarily played in this order.
12 December 2018
Match 5*: Argentina (1st Pool A) v Winner Match 2
Match 7*: Australia (1st Pool B) v Winner Match 1
13 December 2018
Match 6*: Germany (1st Pool D) v Winner Match 3
Match 8: India (1st Pool C) v Winner Match 4
The winners of these matches will qualify for the semi-finals, with the losing teams being eliminated. The semi-finals will be as follows, although not necessarily played in this order.
15 December 2018
Winner Match 5 v Winner Match 6
Winner Match 7 v Winner Match 8
The winners of these matches will play for 1st and 2nd places (the final) and the losers will play for 3rd and 4th places. These matches will take place on Sunday 16 December 2018. The score at the end of the regulation time of any match will be registered by the FIH as the result of the match. If at the end of regulation time the result is a draw, in order to establish an outright winner of a classification match for the purpose of the competition, a shoot-out will be played to establish the winner.
FIH Media Release
