Scott 52010 Hockey World Cup Review
March 15th 2010 01:36
Over the past 2-3 week, 12 hockey teams have been gathered in India for the 12th edition of the FIH-run (International Hockey Federation) Hockey World Cup. Before the tournament kicked off there were security concerns for Australia in particular with regards to threats made against the team but they took their place in India with all other teams. The format for this event was pretty simple. 12 teams divided into 2 pools of 6 with the top 2 in each pool making the semi-finals and all other teams playing for the remaining placings. The pools were as follows
Pool A
New Zealand
Canada
Germany
Korea
Netherlands
Argentina
Pool B
England
Spain
Australia
South Africa
Pakistan
India
Day 1
The tournament kicked off with Pool B in action and there was a real shock with England defeating Australia 3-2. Spain kicked off their campaign, coming from behind to defeat South Africa 4-2 and in the Match of the Day, India dominated and beat arch-rivals Pakistan 4-1.
Day 2
The next day had Pool A in action and New Zealand came from behind to beat Canada 3-2. Defending champions Germany were next up and they came from behind to draw 2-2 with Korea in what could be seen as a shock result. The Dutch meanwhile beat a disappointing Argentine 3-0.
Day 3
Pool B resumed and England had a tough encounter against South Africa winning 6-4. Pakistan meanwhile secured a rather impressive 2-1 win over Spain and Australia got off the mark in the tournament with a 5-2 win over hosts India.
Day 4
Pool A held attention and Germany took Canada to the cleaners with a 6-0 win over the Canadians. Korea came from behind to beat Argentina 2-1 and the Netherlands likewise came from behind to beat New Zealand 3-1.
Day 5
Pool B then saw the biggest blowout of the tournament as Australia beat South Africa 12-0 and record the biggest win in World Cup history. The other games saw 5-2 scorelines with England and Spain defeating Pakistan and India respectively.
Day 6
Pool A saw the Netherlands do a Germany and beat Canada 6-0 while Korea threw away any hopes of making the semi-finals with a 2-1 loss to New Zealand and Germany beat Argentina 4-3 in a classic.
Day 7
Pool B saw Australia continue to gather momentum with a difficult 2-0 win over Spain. South Africa won their first match in the World Cup since 2002 with a 4-3 win over Pakistan and India rallied from 3-0 down but couldn't defeat the English who secured a spot in the semi, winning 3-2.
Day 8
Pool A saw Korea blast to a 9-2 win over Canada after leading 2-0 at half-time. Argentina and New Zealand bored the crowd in a game that Argentina won by 1 goal to 0 and Germany and the Dutch played a pulsating 2-2 stalemate.
Day 9
The final matches in Pool B were played and Spain scored a surprise 2-0 win over England. The ramifications of that loss became clear in the next match as Australia came from a goal down to beat Pakistan 2-1 and knock the English off top spot in Pool B. India ended the group stage with a pulsating 3-3 draw against South Africa.
Day 10
The final matches in Pool A were played and Germany cruised to a 5-2 win over New Zealand and secured top spot in Pool B after the Dutch slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Korea. Argentina finished the group stage on a high with a 4-2 win over Canada.
The ladder at the end of the pool stages were as follows (goal difference in brackets)
Pool A
Germany 11 ( 10)
Netherlands 10 ( 10)
Korea 10 ( 8)
Argentina 6 (-2)
New Zealand 6 (-4)
Canada 0 (-22)
Pool B
Australia 12 ( 17)
England 12 ( 5)
Spain 9 ( 4)
India 4 (-4)
South Africa 4 (-15)
Pakistan 3 (-7)
Day 11
Day 11 saw the match for 11/12 played between Pakistan and Canada. Canada were the only team not to have gained a point at this tournament but they finished off with an astonishing 3-2 win over Pakistan courtesy of golden goal. Meanwhile in the Semi-Finals, Germany flogged a dispirited England 4-1 while the Aussies made the final again with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.
Day 12
It was the day for classification matches. 9/10 saw New Zealand defeat South Africa 5-4 on penalty strokes following a 4-4 draw and extra-time. 7/8 saw Argentina finish on a high with a 4-2 win over hosts India and 5/6 saw Spain defeat a tired Korea 2-0.
Day 13
It was medal day and the day kicked off with a classic Bronze Medal playoff between the English and Dutch teams. The Dutch led 1-0 only to see England score 3 in 11 minutes and go into half-time leading 3-1. England by this stage were tiring and the Dutch ran all over the top of them to win 4-3 and collect the Bronze medal. As for the Gold Medal game, Australia claimed the Gold with a 2-1 win over the Germans in what was a high-standard game and the first game not involving India to be sold out.
Final Standings
1. Australia
2. Germany
3. Netherlands
4. England
5. Spain
6. Korea
7. Argentina
8. India
9. New Zealand
10. South Africa
11. Canada
12. Pakistan
Overall the standard of hockey was high and it was a very successful tournament despite all the security concerns. All teams conducted themselves well and there were very few nasty incidents.
Pool A
New Zealand
Germany
Korea
Netherlands
Argentina
Pool B
England
Spain
Australia
South Africa
Pakistan
India
Day 1
The tournament kicked off with Pool B in action and there was a real shock with England defeating Australia 3-2. Spain kicked off their campaign, coming from behind to defeat South Africa 4-2 and in the Match of the Day, India dominated and beat arch-rivals Pakistan 4-1.
Day 2
The next day had Pool A in action and New Zealand came from behind to beat Canada 3-2. Defending champions Germany were next up and they came from behind to draw 2-2 with Korea in what could be seen as a shock result. The Dutch meanwhile beat a disappointing Argentine 3-0.
Day 3
Pool B resumed and England had a tough encounter against South Africa winning 6-4. Pakistan meanwhile secured a rather impressive 2-1 win over Spain and Australia got off the mark in the tournament with a 5-2 win over hosts India.
Day 4
Pool A held attention and Germany took Canada to the cleaners with a 6-0 win over the Canadians. Korea came from behind to beat Argentina 2-1 and the Netherlands likewise came from behind to beat New Zealand 3-1.
Day 5
Pool B then saw the biggest blowout of the tournament as Australia beat South Africa 12-0 and record the biggest win in World Cup history. The other games saw 5-2 scorelines with England and Spain defeating Pakistan and India respectively.
Day 6
Pool A saw the Netherlands do a Germany and beat Canada 6-0 while Korea threw away any hopes of making the semi-finals with a 2-1 loss to New Zealand and Germany beat Argentina 4-3 in a classic.
Day 7
Pool B saw Australia continue to gather momentum with a difficult 2-0 win over Spain. South Africa won their first match in the World Cup since 2002 with a 4-3 win over Pakistan and India rallied from 3-0 down but couldn't defeat the English who secured a spot in the semi, winning 3-2.
Day 8
Pool A saw Korea blast to a 9-2 win over Canada after leading 2-0 at half-time. Argentina and New Zealand bored the crowd in a game that Argentina won by 1 goal to 0 and Germany and the Dutch played a pulsating 2-2 stalemate.
Day 9
The final matches in Pool B were played and Spain scored a surprise 2-0 win over England. The ramifications of that loss became clear in the next match as Australia came from a goal down to beat Pakistan 2-1 and knock the English off top spot in Pool B. India ended the group stage with a pulsating 3-3 draw against South Africa.
Day 10
The final matches in Pool A were played and Germany cruised to a 5-2 win over New Zealand and secured top spot in Pool B after the Dutch slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Korea. Argentina finished the group stage on a high with a 4-2 win over Canada.
The ladder at the end of the pool stages were as follows (goal difference in brackets)
Pool A
Germany 11 ( 10)
Netherlands 10 ( 10)
Korea 10 ( 8)
Argentina 6 (-2)
New Zealand 6 (-4)
Canada 0 (-22)
Pool B
Australia 12 ( 17)
England 12 ( 5)
Spain 9 ( 4)
India 4 (-4)
South Africa 4 (-15)
Pakistan 3 (-7)
Day 11
Day 11 saw the match for 11/12 played between Pakistan and Canada. Canada were the only team not to have gained a point at this tournament but they finished off with an astonishing 3-2 win over Pakistan courtesy of golden goal. Meanwhile in the Semi-Finals, Germany flogged a dispirited England 4-1 while the Aussies made the final again with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.
Day 12
It was the day for classification matches. 9/10 saw New Zealand defeat South Africa 5-4 on penalty strokes following a 4-4 draw and extra-time. 7/8 saw Argentina finish on a high with a 4-2 win over hosts India and 5/6 saw Spain defeat a tired Korea 2-0.
Day 13
It was medal day and the day kicked off with a classic Bronze Medal playoff between the English and Dutch teams. The Dutch led 1-0 only to see England score 3 in 11 minutes and go into half-time leading 3-1. England by this stage were tiring and the Dutch ran all over the top of them to win 4-3 and collect the Bronze medal. As for the Gold Medal game, Australia claimed the Gold with a 2-1 win over the Germans in what was a high-standard game and the first game not involving India to be sold out.
Final Standings
1. Australia
2. Germany
3. Netherlands
4. England
5. Spain
6. Korea
7. Argentina
8. India
9. New Zealand
10. South Africa
11. Canada
12. Pakistan
Overall the standard of hockey was high and it was a very successful tournament despite all the security concerns. All teams conducted themselves well and there were very few nasty incidents.
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