After a grueling 3 days play, yesterday was a rest day in Mendoza for all the teams. A day to reflect and a day to prepare and rest ahead of the quarter finals.
The Final standings in the Pools were as follows:
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Pool A
Country Played Wins Draws Losses GF GA GD Points New Zealand 3 2 1 0 5 2 3 7 Netherlands 3 2 1 0 4 1 3 7 Japan 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2 1 China 3 0 1 2 1 5 -4 1 Day 3 After 12 Games Played – December 2 -
Pool B
Country Played Wins Draws Losses GF GA GD Points Argentina 3 2 1 0 6 2 4 7 Australia 3 2 1 0 6 3 3 7 Germany 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1 England 3 0 1 2 3 7 -4 1 Day 3 After 12 Games Played – December 2
The first match of the quarter finals to take place will be an all-European affair between two teams whose rivalry spans decades. Netherlands versus Germany is always a fixture that has added spice, as the two teams are geographical rivals as well as regular competitors in all major events.
The Netherlands will still be smarting after they failed to win the group following relatively poor performances against New Zealand and Japan. Ellen Hoog, speaking earlier in the competition said that “goal scoring should not be made too big a focus, but it is something we definitely need to do some work on.” Germany, on the other hand, have not hit top form as yet and coach Jamilon Mulders and captain Julia Muller have both talked about the need for greater concentration and structure within the team.
The second match sees Australia take on Japan. While the Hockeyroos have made relatively easy progress through the pool stages, coach Adam Commens believes his team need to improve further if they are to fulfil their aspirations to win the event. “We play well for 90 per cent of the game, but that other 10 per cent poses dangers for us,” said the forthright coach after his team won their final pool game 3-1.
England finished last in their group, but coach Danny Kerry is not disappointed with his team’s performance. Kerry is taking the long view, he says his team is young, but will be an experienced group of players by the time the 2016 Olympics come round. Their opponents, New Zealand, are pleased to finish top of the group, but as captain Anita Punt said: “We knew we should finish in the top two of our group, the other pool has the tougher draw and whoever we play, it will be hard.”
In the final match of the day, the home crowds will be cheering home their idols as they take on the well-structured Chinese team. Throughout the tournament, China has played competent hockey, but have lacked that flair in front of goal; scoring only one goal to date. The Chinese coach, Cho Myung Jun, says that his young team are still adapting to international competition, and he will be hoping that multi-capped players such as Wang Mengyu and Peng Yang lead from the front.
For their opponents, the major source of concern will be the weight of expectation, but with so many experienced players in their ranks, Las Leonas and their supporters will be looking for nothing less than a convincing victory.
The times of the matches are as follows:
Netherlands v Germany 13:00
Australia v Japan 15:30
New Zealand v England 18:00
Argentina v China 20:30
For fans across the world, here are the many platforms from which this show-stopping event can be viewed.
Broadcasters who will be showing matches live on television.
SKY – NZ – All New Zealand games
ABC – Australia – All AUS games
Astro-Arena – Malaysia – All matches
TEN Sports – India (Final only)
Supersport – Africa – All matches
Sport 1 – Germany – German pool matches and quarter/ final. Coverage from that point will then depend on the German team’s progress in the competition.
NOS – Netherlands – All Netherlands matches and final (not always live)
BSKYB – UK – All matches
C7 – Argentina – All Argentina matches
Television coverage will vary from country to country, but for any games that are not shown live on television, there are many other ways you can stay in tune with the action on the pitch.
Website
Full coverage of the events will be available via www.fih.ch with live streaming of the matches available in most territories.
You Tube
The FIH You Tube channel will be active throughout the events, with match highlights and much more being posted as soon as they become available. To visit our You Tube channel, click the link below:
www.youtube.com/fihockey
Social media
FIH will provide comprehensive coverage of the event via our social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Facebook: facebook.com/fihockey
Instagram: instagram.com/fihockey
Twitter: twitter.com/fih_hockey #BestOfTheBest #CT2014
#CT2014 #BestofTheBest
Source material: FIH.CH
Photograph: Ellen Hoog in action for the Netherlands v China (Frank Uijlenbroek (c))