“We seem to play 2-2 draws all the time and I was expecting another drawn game today,” said De Nooijer, who slotted in the equaliser for his team late in the game.
“We played well in the first half but they took over in the second. We need to do well in the last game to go through.”
De Nooijer felt they were a bit unlucky with the penalty corners, with the ball not being stopped on a couple of occasions. Drag-flick specialist Taeke Taekema too was not on the pitch on two occasions when they earned penalty corners.
“The ball couldn’t be stopped properly a couple of times. If it happens in important matches, it becomes difficult,” said the Dutch captain.
German captain Max Muller, meanwhile, felt his team deserved to win while his coach Markus Weise felt the draw was a fair result. “We played well today, perhaps it was our best game of the World Cup so far. But our aim now is to qualify for the semifinals,” said Weise.
Argentina coach Pablo Lombi said things were finally falling into place after his team beat New Zealand 1-0. “We played well in the earlier matches but were unable to force victory,” he said, while captain Matias Vila said they had achieved their goal. “We were a bit unlucky against Germany but today, we wanted to win the match and we deserved to win,” he said.
Pool A scenario
What the contenders must do to reach semifinals
* Netherlands: Draw against Korea will suffice.
* Germany: Draw will do if Korea lose, otherwise must beat New Zealand.
* Korea: Must beat Netherlands by 5 goals. If margin is less will have to rely on New Zealand beating Germany.
* New Zealand: Must beat Germany and pray for Korean win.