Germans and Belgians on strike after the break

Quite in the vein of the day, Germany also had a hard time in their opening match of this World Cup. These Honamas kept a cool head and settled with Japan after the break: 3-0.

“We have to be patient,” sighed German national coach André Henning to the FIH after two difficult quarters against Japan. Number sixteen in the world is the lowest ranked country in India after Chile. They gave Germany a tough first half hour in Bhubaneswar. The 2002 and 2006 world champion earned three penalty corners but was hardly dangerous.

That changed after the break, when the next corner hit a hit. Via captain Mats Grafisch’s stick, the ball bounces past the Japanese goalkeeper. In the same neighborhood, Christopher Rühr provided a beautiful work of art. The German star received a beautiful long ball from Hannes Müller, played with the keeper and pushed the ball high into the goal from a tricky angle.

In the final phase, Rühr was the leading ticker for Thies Prinz, who made it 3-0. As a result, Germany – who had already fallen in the quarter-finals at the previous World Cup – also took a lead in a successful tournament.

Belgium – South Korea 5-0

Belgium followed suit in the Netherlands at the World Cup on Saturday. The defending champion also struggled to break down the resistance of a stiff Asian opponent – in his case South Korea – but in the end secured a resounding victory: 5-0.

The world champion had to show a lot of patience to find a hole in the South Korean stronghold. Before the break, there was not much to do at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Two corners and not a single shot on target. These are the dismal statistics that the Belgians played on the boards, in the match led by Jonas van ‘t Hek.

They struggled against the Koreans who, like their Malaysian mainland colleagues, took a very compact position. It was only after the break that Michel van den Heuvel’s team managed to remove a stone from this wall. Alexander Hendrickx – before the break he wasn’t there for both corners – pushed from the top of the circle.

It was the beginning of the dismantling of South Korea. The Korean keeper in particular turned out to be as slippery as a basket after the break. Thanks to goals from Tanguy Cosyns, Belgium went 2-0 in the third quarter. The Hoofdklasse trio Florent van Aubel, Sébastien Dockier and Arthur de Sloover inflated the score in the last ten minutes. All in all, no problem for the winner of the previous World Cup, who will play the squatter against Germany on Tuesday.

New Zealand – Chile 3-1

Of course, New Zealand were the favorites when they met Chile, debuting in the World Cup. The Kiwis also played this role at the Birsa Munda stadium in Rourkela: the South Americans lost 3-1. With this, the first cards of Group C – the group in which the Netherlands also play – have been shuffled.

But did Chile have no chance? Absolutely not. Especially when it comes to penalty corners. The beginner has decorated no less than six. Juan Amoroso – competing in the Belgian league – was close again and again with his drag push, but he was unlucky.

The Chileans defended their goal with all their might, but the team did not respond to the effort of Sam Lane (Orange-Rood player): the striker crushed it between the legs of goalkeeper Adrian Henriquez . Sam Hiha – who had signed for just one goal for the Black Sticks before this World Cup – netted the second and third before the break. Three goals in nine minutes, the Kiwis let go.

New Zealand had enough chances to increase the score, but it was only in the Chilean side that the hands came together. With about eleven minutes left on the clock, a South American folk festival erupted for a while. Ignacio Contardo scored his country’s first World Cup goal with his backhand and although it was an honorary goal, it will go down in Chile’s history.

Party with the Chilean team after the goal of honour. Photo: FIH

Program January 14