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Two-time World Cup winners Germany thrashed three-time champions Netherlands in their crucial Pool-D match.
Germany won by a 4-1 margin in an exciting encounter in nearly packed Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
The match was termed as a winner-takes-it-all affair as the winner could all but seal the top position in the group.
As it seems, Germany are on their way again to the quarter-finals. Only two times did the Germans failed to reach the last four, in the first edition (1971) and last one (2014).
Germany made short work of their opponents who were dominant in the quarter but were sloppy in the others. Valentine Verga opened the scoring for Netherlands in the first quarter and Mathias Muller scored the equaliser in the second quarter.
Germans blew a six-minute blitz in the fourth quarter in which Lucan Windfeder, Marco Miltkau and Christopher Ruhr scored in the space of six minutes.
Germany now stand top of the group with six points and a draw against Malaysia would secure them a direct entry to quarter-finals.
Let us look at the three reasons why Netherlands lost the match in the Hockey World Cup 2018:
#3 Netherlands must rue missed opportunities
Netherlands played exceptionally well in the first half. They kept the possession and created more and more attacks in Germany’s half. Though the German’s had the first shot on goal through Christopher Ruhr, it was Netherlands who were dominating.
The Dutch side was trying to find passes through short passes but resolute German defenders were not allowing spaces to do so. They team were playing with aggression and energy that was needed in this kind of game.
Netherlands had their first shot on goal in the 10th minute through Billy Bakker. They deservedly got the lead in the 13th minute thanks to a brilliant effort from Valentine Verga.
But surprisingly after the first quarter, there was a sudden deep in Netherland’s performance, as they allowed Germany to get back into the game.
As the game went on, Germany had more control on the midfield and kept attacking the Dutchmen.
With the kind of pressure they created, Netherlands should’ve killed the match in the first half itself. As the German’s were sitting back most of the time and defending, Netherlands had the opportunity to pile more pressure on them but they failed.
#2 Dutch defence destroyed by German blitz
There is a cliché that goes with this German team. They measure the opponents before unleashing weapons from their armoury. They did that perfectly in a crucial match against Netherlands.
Apart from the initial shot from Ruhr and the trickery during the first Penalty Corner, there was not much to say about the German team in the first quarter.
The Germans came out with a renewed vigour in the second quarter and Ruhr’s brilliant stickwork just after the start showed they will not give anything easy for the Dutchmen.
They were trying to assert themselves amid odd counter-attacks from the Dutchmen. Finally the perseverance of the German side paid off when Matthias Muller scored from a Penalty Corner to restore parity.
They were absolutely ruthless in the fourth quarter, when they scored three goals in the space of six minutes.
It was Lukas Windfeder who gave Germany the lead in the 52nd minute with a powerful drag flick in the bottom corner. Marco Miltkau increased the lead two minutes later and the last nail on Netherland’s coffin was put by Christopher Ruhr from a penalty stroke.
During the second and third goal, Netherlands’ defensive weaknesses were exposed. They gave too much space to Windfeder to shoot from PC.
Nobody challenged Niklas Wellen when he made the perfect pass to Miltkau during the third goal.
#3 No goals from Penalty Corners
The Dutch side have only utilised two of their eight Penalty Corners in their big win against Malaysia. Drag-flick specialist Mink van der Weerden scored one among them. On Wednesday, they got four – of which three back to back – but wasted every opportunity.
All of their penalty corners came in the third quarter. The first one was blocked by German player Thobias Hauke who was shown a green card for rushing out of the box before the ball was injected from the push-out. Their next two attempts were saved by the German custodian.
The specialist Weerden was back on the field when Netherlands got the fourth penalty corner in the 43rd minute. But his valiant effort was saved by Martin Haner who took the shot on his wrist.
Penalty corners are still considered the best weapon to score goals in hockey. For Netherlands to go far in this tournament, they first need to go to the drawing board and discuss how to convert penalty corners.
This opportunity comes very few in a match and should be utilised every time.
Head to Sportskeeda to check out the Hockey World Cup schedule for the upcoming matches
