Hockey World Cup 2023:  Defending champions Belgium cruise into semifinals with 2-0 win against New Zealand

Defending champions Belgium coasted to a flawless 2-0 win over New Zealand on Tuesday, January 24, to book their place in the semifinals of the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup.

Greg Nicol's side, who stunned the hockey fraternity by defeating hosts India, failed to recreate the magic of the crossover game in front of a packed Kalinga Stadium.

Tom Boon made up for Alexander Hendrickx's absence by giving the defending champions the lead off a penalty corner in the 10th minute. Boon beat Dominic Dixon with an astounding flick that found a gap between the goalkeeper and the runner at the post.

Florent van Aubel doubled the lead for the Belgians with a magnificent team goal from open play five minutes later that rocked the Black Sticks' early.

Van Aubel very nearly scored another peach of a goal midway through the second quarter. However, he failed to control a delectable long cross from Tom Boon to give New Zealand a lifeline.

Boon then felt hard done by when he was denied a short corner after a goalbound shot hit the back of a New Zealand defender in the attacking circle four minutes before half-time. The Belgians appealed, but umpire Raghu Prasad thought otherwise.

New Zealand then had a chance of their own in the 28th minute. Sam Lane maufactured a PC after an opportunistic cross from Kane Russell, but the latter was unable to beat Vincent Vanasch with his drag flick.

Arthur De Sloover then incurred a green card and the wrath of the umpire for kicking the ball as New Zealand failed to put together an elaborate PC variation early in the final quarter. A yellow card shown to Nic Woods negated any possible advantage for the Black Sticks.

The Belgians enjoyed the lion's share of possession throughout the contest. This meant Simon Child, who was the livewire for the Kiwis in their game against India, was unable to make an impact.

Child finally managed to produce an opportunistic diagonal crash ball from outside the striking circle seven minutes from the end of regulation time. However, it failed to find a teammate in the vicinity, with Sam Hiha some distance away.

Kane Russell had one last chance to score off a PC in the dying seconds but failed to do so. Belgium ultimately took a step closer in their quest to defend their Hockey World Cup title without further ado.

Earlier, Australia came from two goals down to beat Spain 4-3 in the first quarterfinal in Bhubaneswar.

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Belgium to face either South Korea or the Netherlands in Hockey World Cup semifinal

Belgium were brilliant on the pitch Image Ctsy: Hockey India

Belgium will take on either the Netherlands or South Korea in the semifinals of the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup.

The Dutch have been in imposing form in Odisha after a less-than-encouraging performance at the Tokyo Olympics where they were eliminated by Australia in the quarterfinals.

A 4-0 win for the Netherlands against Malaysia was followed by another against New Zealand by an identical margin to kickstart their Hockey World Cup campaign. Hat-tricks from Jip Janssen and Thierry Brinkman ensured that the Dutch came up with a whopping 14-0 win over minnows Chile in their final group-stage encounter.

Meanwhile, the South Koreans caused a major upset by beating 2016 Olympic champions Argentina in a crossover game. They held Los Leones to a 5-5 draw in regulation time before winning via a shootout.

The Koreans, who finished third in Pool B behind Belgium and Germany, lost 0-5 against the Red Lions in their group-stage opener at the Hockey World Cup.