Spain men stun the Dutch to book final date with defending champs Germany

Germany kept their FIH Hockey World Cup title defence on track with a semifinal victory over Argentina, while Spain stunned hosts the Netherlands in a thrilling clash to set up a mouth-watering final on Sunday.

Spain reached their first FIH Hockey World Cup final since 1998 after upsetting the Netherlands 4-3 in Amsterdam.

The Dutch looked the more settled side early on, launching the first attack inside 10 seconds and putting Spain under sustained pressure.

They eventually broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when Koen Bijen finished a lovely move up the left. Spain hit back in the third quarter, with José Basterra adding the faintest of behind-the-back touches to a long ball into the circle to level the scores.

The turning point came when Duco Telgenkamp received a 10-minute yellow card for a shoulder charge on a screaming Xavier Gispert.

Spain immediately took advantage, with an unmarked Basterra tapping in his second before Pepe Cunill added a penalty-corner goal moments later.

Basterra then completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot to put Spain 4-1 up after a bad challenge in the circle.

The Netherlands launched a late fightback, with Jip Janssen scoring from a penalty corner before Joep de Mol added another with just over a minute remaining.

But the Olympic champions had left themselves too much to do, and Spain held on for a famous 4-3 victory.

Spanish goalkeeper Luis Calzado was named Player of the Match and said afterwards: “When we scored the fourth goal, we knew that the match was not done. We needed to work more to take the path to the final, and I think that we did… We made some mistakes that we gave more opportunities to the Netherlands. But I’m really proud for the team, and really proud for me. I think that I will remember this every moment."

GERMANY EDGE ARGENTINA

Defending champions Germany booked their place in a second consecutive final with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Argentina.

After the drama of the first semifinal, the second was a much more cagey affair, with both sides cancelling each other out and creating few clear chances in the opening half.

Germany came closest just before the break when Justus Weigand attempted a tennis-style overhead smash towards goal, but Christopher Ruhr couldn’t quite connect with the deflection.

The Germans made the perfect start to the second half when Weigand added a bouncing deflection to Moritz Ludwig’s shot into the circle in the 33rd minute.

But the Argentinians responded early in the final quarter, with Tomás Domene converting a penalty corner to level the scores.

The game then swung Germany’s way when Argentina’s Lucio Mendez was handed a five-minute yellow card in the 50th minute, leaving his side a player short. Germany made the numerical advantage count, with a decisive pass from Ludwig finding Weigand, who volleyed the ball across goal for Paul-Philipp Kaufmann to turn it in at the far post in the 54th minute.

With few chances throughout the match, Argentina had little opportunity to craft a late comeback as Germany held on for the win.

Justus Weigand was named Player of the Match for Germany and said afterwards: “I think we suffered a lot today, and we did incredible today, and also in front of the goal and inside the D, we were probably a little bit better than Argentina.”

AUSSIES FINISH FIFTH

Earlier in Amsterdam, Australia secured fifth place with a 2-0 victory over England in a match interrupted by a thunderstorm at halftime.

The Australians already held a 1-0 lead when the storm forced a delay, with Blake Govers scoring from a penalty corner with 22 seconds left in the first half to take his overall World Cup tally to 17 goals.

When play resumed after the extended break, the Kookaburras took a firm grip on the game, and Ky Willott doubled their lead in the 48th minute from a penalty-corner rebound after an excellent initial save by goalkeeper Ollie Payne.

Up at the other end, Ash Thomas made several crucial saves in the final minutes to preserve Australia’s clean sheet and wrap up the win.

BELGIUM BEAT INDIA IN SHOOTOUT

In the playoff for seventh place, Belgium edged India 4-3 in a shootout after a dramatic 3-3 draw.

India stunned the Belgian crowd by taking the lead in the sixth minute when Abhishek’s shot deflected in off a defender.

The home side were eventually rewarded for the pressure they had created when Roman Duvekot produced a superb finish to level in the 22nd minute.

They struck again moments later with Hugo Labouchere dragging in from a penalty corner to lead 2-1, but India levelled from a PC at the start of the third quarter.

Arthur de Sloover restored Belgium’s lead in the 47th minute, only for India to turn the tables and earn a late penalty corner, with Harmanpreet Singh converting with just 20 seconds remaining to make it 3-3 and send the match into a shootout.

BLACK STICKS OVERPOWER IRELAND

New Zealand secured ninth place with an emphatic 6-3 victory over Ireland.

The Black Sticks dominated the opening quarter with Kane Russell scoring twice from penalty corners. There was more of the same in the second as George Baker and Sam Lane added two from open play to take a commanding 4-0 lead into the break.

Ireland showed far more intent in the third quarter, however, pulling two goals back through a penalty corner and penalty stroke.

But New Zealand restored their cushion just 45 seconds into the final quarter and added another on the counterattack in the 58th to make absolutely sure of the win. Still fighting until the end, Ireland grabbed one final consolation goal with no time left on the clock.

PAKISTAN EDGE SA IN SHOOTOUT

Pakistan came from two goals down to draw 4-4 with South Africa before winning the shootout to claim 11th place.

The South Africans started brightly to lead 2-0, but Pakistan grew in confidence and hit back with goals from Afraz and Muhammad Ammad in quick succession in the second quarter.

Waheed Ashraf Rana then put Pakistan ahead from a penalty corner, but South Africa levelled again.

A 10-minute yellow card for Pakistan’s Umer added to the drama before Mustapha Cassiem restored South Africa’s lead from a penalty stroke in the 55th minute.

But Pakistan kept pushing, and Muhammad Hammadudin struck with just 53 seconds remaining to force a shootout.

WINS FOR FRANCE AND WALES

France left it late but beat Japan 3-1 to secure 13th place. Mattéo Desgouillons rocketed the ball into the net for France’s opener in the 17th minute, but Japan levelled through Jun Watanabe, who converted a penalty stroke five minutes later.

With the game heading towards a shootout, France finally made their dominance count. Timothée Clément deflected home with just 1 minute 47 seconds remaining, before Victor Charlet struck from a penalty corner 35 seconds later to seal a 3-1 victory.

Wales finished in 15th place after a shootout victory over Malaysia. The Welsh went into halftime 1-0 up after Benjamin Francis provided the finishing touch to a Jack Draper pass in the 29th minute.

But Malaysia upped the tempo in the second half and were rewarded when Faizal Saari levelled in the 41st minute.

They thought they’d have done enough to wrap up the win when Akhimullah Anuar put them ahead in the 52nd minute.

But it took Wales under a minute to respond through Liam Barker to make it 2-2 and send the contest into a shootout where they prevailed.

MEN

Result: Match 41 – 13/14th (M)

Japan 1 - 3 France

Player of the match: Mattéo Desgouillons (FRA)

Umpires: Rawi Anbananthan (MAS), Darren Hubach (RSA), Sarah Wilson (SCO-video)

Result: Match 42 – 15/16th (M)

Wales 2 - 2 Malaysia (SO: 2-1)

Player of the match: Toby Reynolds-Cotterill (WAL)

Umpires: Dan Barstow (ENG), David Tomlinson (NZL), Rachel Williams (ENG-video)