The Netherlands were the only team to ensure their passage through to the quarter-finals on the opening day of the men’s tournament at the FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Oman on Sunday.
The Dutch won both of their two matches, with other pool games also going their way, to secure their place in the top two of their pool.
Pool C looks to be the most intriguing with all four teams still in contention for quarter-final places.
This is how the day’s matches unfolded…
POOL A
The Netherlands were the first team to book their place in the quarter-finals after a strong start in the tournament. Having beaten Poland 6-3 in their opening match they followed up with a 5-3 victory against Pakistan, Alexander Schop contributing a hat-trick in that match.
After the match, Schop said: “It feels very good. We had a long preparation so it’s nice that we won twice and, of course, it’s a good start for the tournament.”
Earlier in the day Pakistan beat Nigeria 11-5, Rana Waheed bagging five goals and Hannan Shahid scoring four. Poland’s 7-2 win over Nigeria, with Eryk Bembenek scoring four goals, means that Pakistan and Poland will play off for the second quarter-final spot in the group on Monday, while their two losses mean that Nigeria cannot advance to the top-eight place playoffs in the competition.
POOL B
Egypt impressed with two wins on the opening day of the men’s tournament. Hossameldin Ragab scored a hat-trick in a 10-2 thumping of Jamaica, and the team followed up with an 8-6 win over India, Pawan Rajbhar scoring three in a losing cause.
Earlier in the day, India hammered Switzerland 9-1, with Maninder Singh firing in four goals and Mohammed Raheel adding three. Switzerland went on to beat Jamaica 6-4 in the afternoon, Gaël Wyss-Chodat grabbing three of the goals.
Egypt are well positioned to advance to the quarter-finals due to a superior goal difference in the group, but all four teams are statistically in contention for the two places in the top eight.
POOL C
Pool C emerged as a hotly contested pressure cooker and is poised for a dramatic finish on Monday. In the morning Teague Marcano scored a hat-trick for Trinidad & Tobago in their thrilling 5-5 draw with Australia, the Aussies clawing their way back from three goals down with just five minutes remaining in the match. Kenya then completed an easy 6-1 win over New Zealand but the East Africans lost their next encounter. Marcano notched up another hat-trick in Trinidad & Tobago’s 7-2 victory over the Kenyans to take his team top of the group.
Things then got even more interesting. New Zealand found themselves trailing Australia 0-5 with 11 minutes remaining in their match, but Callum Dempster led the way with a hat-trick as the Black Sticks fought their way back for a thrilling 6-5 win, blowing the group wide open. All four teams are in with a real chance of advancing to the quarter-finals, all depending on their last pool games on Monday.
POOL D
Pool D is almost as close as Pool C. Hosts Oman came back from two goals down in their opening game of the day to draw 3-3 with Malaysia. The USA then dismantled Fiji 14-3, with hat-tricks from Alberto Montilla and Sekayi Charasika.
In the afternoon session, Malaysia took their opportunities in a hard-fought 3-2 victory against the USA. Oman then bossed Fiji with an 8-3 win to go top of the group, Asama Barazahan contributing three goals as Oman celebrated a first victory in their maiden appearance at an FIH World Cup,
Only Fiji are out of the running for a quarter-final place, but for the other three teams, there’s all to play for on Monday morning.
To see the current pool standings for the FIH Hockey 5s World Cup in Muscat, please click here.
FIH Hockey5s World Cup, Oman – 28 January
Result: Match 1 (M)
Netherlands 6 - 3 Poland
Result: Match 2 (M)
Pakistan 11 - 5 Nigeria
Result: Match 3 (M)
India 9 - 1 Switzerland
Result: Match 4 (M)
Egypt 10 - 2 Jamaica
Result: Match 5 (M)
Australia 5 - 5 Trinidad and Tobago
Result: Match 6 (M)
New Zealand 1 - 6 Kenya
Result: Match 7 (M)
Malaysia 3 - 3 Oman
Result: Match 8 (M)
USA 14 - 3 Fiji
Result: Match 9 (M)
Poland 7 - 2 Nigeria
Result: Match 10 (M)
Pakistan 3 - 5 Netherlands
Result: Match 11 (M)
Switzerland 6 - 4 Jamaica
Result: Match 12 (M)
Egypt 8 - 6 India
Result: Match 13 (M)
Trinidad and Tobago 7 - 2 Kenya
Result: Match 14 (M)
New Zealand 6 - 5 Australia
Result: Match 15 (M)
USA 2 - 3 Malaysia
Result: Match 16 (M)
Oman 8 - 3 Fiji
