FIH Hockey WC: Mouthwatering semi affairs on cards

Australia eye Germany scalp, Netherlands seek Belgium revenge

After two weeks of intense competition, the cream has risen to the top. Australia, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany — the top four ranked teams of the world — will lock horns in two mouth-watering FIH Hockey World Cup semifinals here on Friday that should whet the appetite of not just the purists but even casual followers of the sport.

Three-time winners Australia, for whom India has always been a happy hunting ground having triumphed in the 2010 World Cup and Commonwealth Games, kick off the semifinal proceedings against a peaking Germany while free-scoring Netherlands will be looking to exact revenge against defending champions Belgium in the night clash at the Kalinga Stadium.

There’s very little to separate Australia and Germany, two of the sport’s heavyweights who have been battling for the top honours consistently over the last four decades. In the 45 times the two have have clashed against each other, Australia have won 20 with Germany edging just ahead by one win. Australia though have beaten the Die Honamas the last three times, including the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Australia have been in smashing form this World Cup too, playing their usual blistering hockey and pumping in goals left, right and centre. They’ve amassed 24 goals but unlike the Kookaburras of the past, they’ve looked porous on the defensive front, conceding as many as eight goals. Argentina held them 3-3 while Spain almost threatened a shocker after leading 2-0 in the quarterfinals.

It’s this chink in the armour which Germany, fresh from a stunning come-from-behind last-gasp quarterfinal win over England, will be looking to target. The two-time champions were staring at the exit door less than four minutes left against England after trailing 2-0 but the Germans showed the incredible mental strength they possess, scoring twice in a space of 40 seconds before acing the shootouts to pull off one of the greatest heists in modern hockey.

It was a game Germany looked totally off-colour for a vast majority. But big teams have this innate ability to steal a win even when they are not at their best and that’s what they did to everyone’s astonishment. Germany, now with their tails up, will bring their usual industry and discipline, and Australia will simply have no room for any errors.

The other semifinal will be a repeat of the 2018 final with Netherlands looking to halt Belgium’s dominance of the world. The Red Lions, who were playing second fiddle to Netherlands and Germany until the start of the millennium, have ushered in a hockey revolution and are now the holders of Olympic gold and world title. They came here with a somewhat aged squad but the Golden Generation has shown the fire is still burning bright inside.

They’ve played some rasping hockey; their passes, movement and vision all a work of art. They attack in numbers but the moment they lose possession, they defend in numbers too. Literally every player knows where exactly his team-mate is or is going to make a run, and the spaces they create or find is magical. Their game management is at another level altogether.

Having said that, if there’s a team that can stall Belgium, it’s the Dutch. They’ve scored 27 goals so far — the most by a side this event — and conceded just one, although the quality of opposition has been mediocre. Smarting from two successive final defeats in World Cup, the last one coming against Belgium, they’ve been on song right from the start. Well supported by their families and friends in the stands, the Oranje will be hoping to paint the town orange.