4:50 p.m
Globally, the New Zealanders are not that big, at best they came fourth at World Championships and Olympic Games, most recently places 11 (WM 2018) and 8 (Olympics 2021). After all, they once took 3rd place in the Champions Trophy (2011). New Zealand is also the reigning winner of the Commonwealth Games (2018) and the Oceania Cup (2019).
16:41
At the last World Cup four years ago, Germany was also in the quarter-finals, but lost 1-0 to Spain. In the end it was 5th place. The last medal was in 1998 (bronze), the two title wins are much longer ago (1976, 1981). But there was Olympic precious metal (2004 gold and 2016 bronze) during the dry spell at the World Cup. They finished sixth in the last few games. In contrast, the Germans are considered medal guarantors on a continental level, are double European champions (2007, 2013) and currently runners-up (2021).
16:32
On the other hand, a 3-1 draw against co-hosts Netherlands cost the Germans victory in their group. The successes against Chile (4:1) and Ireland (3:0) ensured an unproblematic progression, but the Danas had to play second in the crossover comparisons. A narrow 1-0 win against South Africa earned Valentin Altenburg’s team a place in the last eight.
16:23
For the DHB selection, this means a demanding task, after all, the New Zealanders marched through the preliminary round without defeat. Surprisingly, points were dropped at the start against China in a 2-2 win, but this was followed by victories against England (3-1) and India (4-3). Coach Shea McAleese’s team remained undefeated, took first place in Group B and went straight into the quarter-finals.
16:13
Welcome to the Women’s Field Hockey World Championship! Two of the quarter-finals are on the agenda in Amstelveen today. The German team will be there and meet New Zealand at 5:00 p.m.