An intense, action-packed and utterly thrilling spectacle was promised ahead of the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup and the teams duly delivered on the opening day in Poreč, Croatia. An impressive total of 107 goals were scored across the opening 12 matches with Namibia’s women claiming a memorable victory over Australia and two-time defending men’s champions Austria having to dig deep to beat fellow title contenders Poland.
Men: Pool B
The men opened the tournament with a riveting encounter as Iran, bronze medallists at the 2023 event and currently ranked second in the world, took on 12th-ranked Argentina. Hamid Nooranian opened the scoring in fine style for Iran, showing exceptional skill in tight space down the left side. The teams went on to trade goals with Argentina looking dangerous throughout, and it was only at the end of the third quarter that Iran managed to open a two-goal lead. Argentia pulled one back, but Iran secured their hard-fought 5-3 win with a late goal.
After missing the 2023 tournament, reigning European champions Germany returned to World Cup action against debutants Malaysia. The Malaysians were still in contention at 4-4 after 25 minutes, but Germany took control with eight unanswered goals for their 12-4 win, Nicolas Proske and Ben Hasbach grabbing four apiece.
Women: Pool B
The women’s tournament kicked off with a tight match between Austria, silver medallists at the 2023 Indoor World Cup, and Poland, silver medallists in last year’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship. A goalless first half was indicative of uncompromising defence from both teams, and it was only in the final minute of the third quarter that Austria eventually broke the deadlock with a penalty stroke. Poland grabbed a late equaliser for a share of the points, and their player of the match Marlena Rybacha put things into perspective: “Obviously you want to win all the time but at the end, I’m happy with the point. Every point counts.”
Debutants Thailand and South Africa played out a 4-4 draw, leaving all four teams locked on 1 point each.
Men: Pool C
Belgium found themselves under pressure against Namibia with the scores locked on 4-4 at the end of the third quarter. Namibia survived a four-minute yellow card unscathed, but a green card early in the final quarter allowed the Belgians to bag two quick goals, and they added another in the closing seconds for a flattering 7-4 win.
Australia then chalked up three unanswered goals in the first quarter to set up a comfortable 7-2 win over Trinidad & Tobago.
Women: Pool C
The Namibian women came from behind for a famous 3-2 win over Australia. The match looked set for a draw before Jivanka Kruger, Namibia’s player of the match, rounded off a series of exquisite passes to fire her team home with a little over two minutes remaining. An ecstatic Kruger warned: “Just watch us for the whole week, we never ever give up.”
In the next pool game it was Germany, the reigning European champions, who were ruthless in dispatching New Zealand 9-1. The Germans are hunting a record-breaking fourth FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup title and five goals from Ines Wanner saw them wrap up the match comfortably.
Men: Pool A
Austria’s hunt for a third consecutive World Cup title got off to a good start with their hard-fought 6-2 win over Poland, who were silver medallists in the European championship. Poland have genuine title aspirations after beating Austria in that European campaign, and they went ahead twice in the match. The Austrians fought back to carry a slender 3-2 lead into the final quarter before showing their class with three goals to secure the win.
Austria’s Fülöp Losonci was player of the match with a crucial hat-trick and said of his team’s poor start: “I think we wanted too much, we played too hectic, and then we calmed down, played our game, and we see if we play our game it’s going to be hard to stop us.”
Meanwhile, tournament hosts and debutants Croatia went down 8-6 to South Africa despite Mario Mucić firing them ahead in just the second minute and Lucas Bachmann bagging five goals on the night. South Africa found themselves trailing 1-3 before surging back. Mustapha Cassiem led the charge with four goals as he extended his remarkable 42-match scoring streak while Hans Neethling contributed a hat-trick.
Women: Pool A
Hosts Croatia suffered a 7-1 loss in their debut against Belgium, Daphne Gose-Claessens claiming 4 goals in the process.
Czechia came from behind to close out the day’s action with an exciting 5-3 win over The United States.
3 February 2025 Results
Men
Result: Match 1 (M)
Iran 5 - 3 Argentina
Player of the match: Sasan Hataminejad (IRI)
Umpires: Sean Edwards (ENG), Zeke Newman (AUS)
Result: Match 2 (M)
Germany 12 - 4 Malaysia
Player of the match: Paul Dösch (GER)
Umpires: Pieter Hembrecht (NED), Salman (INA)
Result: Match 3 (M)
Belgium 7 - 4 Namibia
Player of the match: Philippe Simar (BEL)
Umpires: Salman (INA), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)
Result: Match 4 (M)
Australia 7 - 2 Trinidad & Tobago
Player of the match: Jake Staines (AUS)
Umpires: Michael Pontus (BEL), Ivona Makar (CRO)
Result: Match 5 (M)
Austria 6 - 2 Poland
Player of the match: Fülöp Losonci (AUT)
Umpires: Pieter Hembrecht (NED), Abby Macarthur (WAL)
Result: Match 6 (M)
South Africa 8 - 6 Croatia
Player of the match: Hans Neethling (RSA)
Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER), Salman (INA)
Women
Result: Match 1 (W)
Austria 1 - 1 Poland
Player of the match: Marlena Rybacha (POL)
Umpires: Abby Macarthur (WAL), Kristy Robertson (AUS)
Result: Match 2 (W)
South Africa 4 - 4 Thailand
Player of the match: Somlak Suttiprapa (THA)
Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER), Ana Ortega (ESP)
Result: Match 3 (W)
Australia 2 - 3 Namibia
Player of the match: Jivanka Kruger (NAM)
Umpires: Ben Goentgen (GER), Rachel Williams (ENG)
Result: Match 4 (W)
Germany 9 - 1 New Zealand
Player of the match: Ines Wanner (GER)
Umpires: Melina Illanes (ARG), Emily Carroll (AUS)
Result: Match 5 (W)
Belgium 7 - 1 Croatia
Player of the match: Daphne Gose-Claessens (BEL)
Umpires: Zeke Newman (AUS), Kristy Robertson (AUS)
Result: Match 6 (W)
Czechia 5 - 3 United States
Player of the match: Kateřina Laciná (CZE)
Umpires: Michael Pontus (BEL), Ana Ortega (ESP)
