Five European teams seal WC hockey spots

ISLAMABAD: The Netherlands qualify for the FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup India 2023 along with four other European countries. The Netherlands led the pack with the European Hockey title beating Germany on shoot-out.

The Netherlands topped off an impressive 2021 EuroHockey Championship campaign with a scintillating display of attacking hockey as they beat Germany in a shoot out to take gold medal and seal World Cup spot.

Germany will also qualify for the 2023 blue riband event, as will bronze medallists Belgium, fourth-placed England and Spain, who finished in the fifth position despite losing 3-2 to France in the final match of their campaign.

The title for the Netherlands was just reward for an outstanding performance that saw them come back twice from being behind their German rivals during the match. The ensuing shoot out was as near perfect as possible, with Pirmin Blaak stopping two of the German attempts before Jorrit Croon scored the winner.

The largely Dutch crowd of 3,000 fans in the Amstelveen Stadium played their part in this extraordinary final. But even the German fans and neutrals will have been hugely appreciative of a showcase of hockey by two teams at the top of their game.