Hockey players also beat New Zealand 4-0 at the World Cup

Thierry Brinkman helped the Orange against sloppy New Zealand with two hits for an early 2-0 lead, after which Koen Bijen made it 3-0 before the break. Tjep Hoedemakers put the final score on the scoreboard in the final stage.

The Netherlands lead the group with 6 points. Malaysia beat Chile 3-2 on Monday and have 3 points, as do New Zealand. Thursday, Chile, still without a goal, will be Orange’s last opponent in the group stage. Only the winner of the group qualifies directly for the quarter-finals.

Orange got off to a great start against New Zealand. The three-time world champion opened the scoring after 2 minutes via Brinkman, after Hoedemakers had intercepted a pass from the opponent. After a penalty corner for New Zealand, the Netherlands again took advantage of an opposing error. The New Zealanders replaced their goalkeeper with an outfield player to force the equaliser, but quickly ran into a 2-0 draw. Bijen found Brinkman and the experienced Bloemendaal forward pushed the ball into the empty net. Thijs van Dam then had another great chance, while Jip Janssen couldn’t take a penalty corner.

The Dutch decided the game in the second quarter with a nice goal from Bijen. After a pass from Jonas de Geus, the striker tipped the ball over from the head of the circle, 3-0. The world-ranked No. 3 continued to hunt for more, but had to wait until the fourth quarter for the fourth goal. After some preparatory work from Tijmen Reyenga and Van Dam, Hoedemakers scored the 4-0.

“It was an important game in the squad,” said Brinkman, who was chosen as the ‘man of the match’. “Those are three important points. We could have scored more, but I’m happy with the team’s performance.”