The final of the Hero Hockey World League Semifinal round was between the two top ranked sides in the event in London’s Olympic Park.
The World No 1 and the Olympic Champions Argentina faced the 4th ranked Netherlands. To everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be a one sided contest.
Valentin Verga led the way scoring two superb goals in the first quarter. Dutch moved like a well oiled machine at a relentless pace throughout the match. Thijs van Dam, Robbert Kemperman, Mirco Pruijser and Thierry Brinkman had a goal apiece. Argentina’s late consolation goal came through Matias Paredes.
Earlier, England thrilled a big home crowd with a 4-1 win over Malaysia in the match for the 3/4 place. Harry Martin had a brace; both scored via well worked out penalty corner variations. David Ames and Phil Roper shared the other two England goals. Malaysia’s lone scorer was Faizal Saari.
The top three sides have qualified for the Hockey World League Final 2017 in Bhubaneswar, India.
Joining Netherlands, Argentina, England and the hosts India at the event will be the sides finishing in the top four at the other Semifinal round of the Hockey World League starting from July 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Final Standings
1: Netherlands
2: Argentina
3: England
4: Malaysia
5: Canada
6: India
7: Pakistan
8: China
9: Korea
10: Scotland
Individual Awards
– Hero Best Player of the Tournament: Gonzalo Peillat (Argentina)
– Hero Top Scorer of the Tournament: Gonzalo Peillat – 12 goals (Argentina)
– Best Goalkeeper: Kumar Subramiam (Malaysia)
– Best Junior Player: Thierry Brinkman (Netherlands)
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