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Germany snatched a win from the jaws of England in the dying minutes of the third quarterfinal of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023. The German team were trailing 2-0 with just over two minutes remaining in the match. They had just missed a penalty stroke to increase their frustration.
However, the former champions showed no signs of despondency and kept moving forward with intensity. A green card around the same time increased England’s vulnerability. By pulling their goalkeeper, Germany took a risk and reaped the rewards. They levelled the scores and forced a shootout.
In the shootout, German goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg managed to make two saves while all four attempts by his teammates were successful. Thus, with a 4-3 scoreline, Germany go through into the semis and will face Australia.
England vs Germany quarterfinal turns out to be slow potboiler
The match, overall, was rather uneventful. For most of its duration, it was a midfield wrangle with both teams struggling to mount penetrative attacks. To some extent, it was due to the strong defense of both the sides.
England were marginally the better team in the first half. Germany were finding it tough to carry the ball. Christopher Ruhr, their dynamic forward, couldn’t impact the game as he would have liked.
England did get the lead in the first quarter itself, in the 12th minute. Will Calnan worked the ball along the baseline from the left, toward the goal and then passed it to Stuart Rushmere standing near the center.
Rushmere decided to go 3D and pressed the ball forward while keeping it airborne. Zachary Wallace then latched on to swing at the ball and dispatch it into the goal before Rushmere could pull the trigger. England took the lead.
Germany barely managed a good attack in the first half but did get one penalty corner, with just over three minutes remaining. It didn’t yield any results though.
However, England did convert a penalty corner of their own, in the third quarter. Liam Ansell, positioned at the far castle, moved rightward with the ball before drilling it across into the goal, in the 33rd minute.
A side like Germany was expected to fight back strong, but they were just not able to break through the midfield. They did increase their possession, but to no avail. Then, with around five minutes remaining, the Germans decided to up the stakes and pulled their goalkeeper.
Whether it was a direct outcome of this or just a bit more energy from them is hard to gauge, but Germany immediately had success. In the 57th minute, a stick check inside the circle led to a penalty stroke.
Stunning German fightback leaves England clueless
Christopher Ruhr, who had earlier earned a yellow card in the third quarter, stepped up. Shockingly, he hit the crossbar with his attempt. This could have deflated most teams and made them lose all hope.
Not Germany though. They immediately recovered from the shock and launched another promising attack. Their captain found himself completely unmarked on the far post as a pass from the right-hand side of the circle came to him and he easily smashed it into the netting, with just over two minutes remaining.
In a major jolt to the English team, Wallace got green carded in the same minute. England were now under pressure. Another dangerous move into the circle, this time from the left-hand side, saw a shot taken at goal and stopped by the body of an English defender.
Initially, the umpire seemed to signal for a free out, but he then decided to seek a review. This led to an easy decision by the video umpire as another penalty stroke was awarded. This time, it was Tom Grambusch who was given the responsibility to convert it. He made no mistake and smashed the ball into the left side of the netting.
In the dying seconds of the match, Gonzalo Peillat got a free hit just outside the circle. Immediately after taking the ball five meters, he entered the circle and pushed the ball into the legs of a defender, earning a PC. However, that didn’t lead to a goal and a shootout ensued.
Germany decided to bring on Danneberg to do the job in the shootout, instead of Alexander Stadler, who had manned the goal in the regulation time.
Both teams scored from their first two attempts. Then, David Goodfield missed for England. Ruhr took the fourth attempt, looking to overcome his miss earlier in the match.
Though his initial shot was saved, he managed to hit the rebound into the goal. Liam Ansell had to score from the fifth attempt for the English team, but he failed. England had their hearts broken, while Germany got their spot in the semis.
