The seventh day of action at the Men’s Hero Hockey World League Semi-Final saw four teams confirm their places at the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 thanks to victories in the quarter-final stages.
Argentina, Malaysia, Netherlands and England all recorded the wins they required, and will now switch their attentions to winning this event and also booking a place at the showpiece end-of-year Odisha Hockey World League Final, which also takes place in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar.
Argentina (1st Pool A) were the first team to confirm their place at next year’s Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, although Pakistan (4th Pool B) gave the reigning Olympic champions a stern trst before going down 3-1. Maico Casella scored twice in the contest, with Gonzalo Peillat also on target with his 12th goal of the competition. Ali Shan was the scorer of Pakistan’s solitary but deserved goal, netting from open play in the 49th minute. It was a special day for Matias Paredes, who celebrated his 300 senior international match with a victory.
The other semi-final will be contested between The Netherlands and home favourites England, who overcame the challenges of China and Canada to book a safe passage through to the final four here in London and also seal their respective tickets to next year’s World Cup.
The Netherlands (1st Pool B) made light work of their quarter-final to confirm their World Cup qualification, turning on the style with a sparkling 7-0 win over China (4th Pool A). The Dutch scored some sensational team goals, with Mirco Pruijser netting twice alongside strikes from Robbert Kemperman, Jonas de Geus, team captain Billy Bakker, Bjorn Kellerman and Tristan Alegre. Bakker’s goal was the 50th of his international career on the occasion of his 150th international match.
With four of the event’s five World Cup qualification places now filled by the four semi-finalists, there is now considerable interest in the race for fifth place. Pakistan, China and Canada are all in the hunt, with World Cup 2018 hosts India completing the 5-8 line-up. Depending on the outcomes of the upcoming Continental Championships, the number of World Cup qualifers from the Hockey World League Semi-Final events could increase, ensuring that there is still all to play for here in London. Like the semi-finals, the 5-8 matches take place on Saturday 24 June, with India playing Pakistan and China taking on Canada.