15th July, Santander, Spain: A day that finally finished at 10.20pm as the reigning Champions, Germany and the hosts Spain played out an epic game that had a weather delay as thunder and lightning struck Santander! Germany overcame Spain 4-1.
First up was the boys in Pool B:
Match 1: Pool B: Netherlands 6 – 0 Ireland
The runners-up from the 2016 Championships The Netherlands got off to a flying start against Ireland.
Both teams had chances to open the scoring in the opening minutes, but the Dutch won a penalty corner in the 2nd minute, which was saved off the line by an Irish foot. Dutch captain VAN TONGEREN converted to open the scoring. The Dutch then dominated the rest of the first half scoring a further 4.
Ireland could not reply, although chances went wide and over the bar, they failed to convert and a further goal from CHARBON finished the game 6-0.
Match 2: Pool B: Belgium v France 6-2
Belgium opened the scoring in the 4th minute via ENGLEBERT. A superb attacking spree in the 28th and 29th minute saw Belgium push the game to 4-0 just before halftime. A tough score for France to come back from. France brought the game back to 4-1. A lack of some focus from both sides in the 3rd quarter saw both teams score again, but the result was never in any real doubt as VAN STEERTEGHEM slotted the 6th Belgian goal home to finish out the game 6-2 in favour of the Belgians.
Match 3: Pool A: England v Poland
The afternoon games from Pool A kicked off with England v Poland. England started stronger with MALES, RUSHWELL and KENTWELL on target in the first half. England’s keeper was in action during the first half but denied Poland any chance of getting on the score sheet. England ran away with the second half as they scored another 4 to finish the game 7-0 and sit top of Pool A overnight.
Match 4: Pool A: Germany v Spain
A fantastic display of hockey from both teams who embraced even the thunder and lightning delay to put on an incredible display of hockey for this age category. However, it was Spain that went ahead early in the game to the delight of the lively home crowd. The reply came from a superb flick from a drag flick from SCHWARZHAUPT following an impressive spin from the stopper. 2 minutes later Germany went ahead again from another PC from captain MÜLLER. Just before the ‘weather’ break Germany went 3-1 up and the final goal came from a scramble in front of goal.
Pool Rankings:
Pool A:
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0 |
| 4 | Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 0 |
Pool B
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| 2 | Belgium | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 0 |
| 4 | Ireland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 0 |
Tomorrow’s games 16th July:
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