Austria’s men will be gunning for a third straight crown at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup when they come up against Germany in the final on Sunday while there will be a guaranteed first-time winner of the women’s title as the Austrian women’s team take on Poland.
The first of the men’s semifinals, played in Poreč, Croatia on Saturday, produced a contest between German structure and South African flair, with the Germans prevailing 6-1. The scoreline was a slightly flattering one for the Germans with a flurry of late goals, but their suffocating press and uncompromising defence were what set up the victory. They also finished well, while South Africa couldn’t find the target despite some excellent opportunities when the game was still in the balance. German goalkeeper Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji was again named player of the match and said afterwards: “We conceded one goal in 40 minutes in indoor hockey, it’s amazing. Amazing teamwork, amazing team effort.”
Two-time defending champions Austria haven’t played to their full potential yet in the tournament, but they were approaching their best in an excellent 4-2 win over Belgium in their semifinal. The Austrians built a 3-0 lead by half time, and it could have been more were it not for some sensational goalkeeping by Romain Genet in the Red Lions’ goal. Belgium didn’t play badly and looked threatening, especially in the closing stages, but the reigning champions simply strangled them with good defence and a tight press. The player of the match went to Austria’s Benjamin Stanzl who said: “We had a pretty good plan in the beginning, and it worked from second one… If you were watching Austria in the last year it’s always about defending. We defended super well.”
Later in the evening, the Austrian women showed incredible grit to come back from two goals down to then get the better of Germany in a shootout. Trailing by two goals at half time, and with the Germans in control of the match, it seemed there was no way back. But the Germans adopted a defensive mindset and paid a heavy price. Austria found some momentum in the third quarter and grabbed one goal back. They then equalised with four minutes left on the clock. Germany struggled to refire their engines and the Austrians nearly clinched the win in regulation time. They then started the shootout with their adrenaline surging and it was no surprise that they clinched it 3-1. The player of the match went to Katharina Bauer who said afterwards: “It was just a whole team effort. We improved the whole tournament, I mean, against Thailand it was such a tough game, and then we came back against Namibia, now we won against Germany. I still can’t believe it, it’s amazing.”
Playing in her fourth FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup, Polish captain Marlena Rybacha fired her team to a two-goal lead inside the opening six minutes and it seemed to knock the wind out of Czechia. Poland has a well-earned reputation for solid defence and Czechia simply couldn’t make any headway against it. The Poles extended their lead in the third quarter and although Czechia did pull their goalkeeper out with six minutes remaining, they were only able to pull back one goal. An emotional Rybacha was awarded the player of the match and said afterwards: “It means the world to me. I was like thinking it’s the fourth time that we are in a World Cup with Poland and each time we got kicked out from Germany, and this time we’ve reached the final. And probably that is the end of my career and we are going to play the final!”
Both men’s and women’s finals will be contested on Sunday night with the remaining playoff matches taking place throughout the day.
8 February 2025 Results
Men
Result: Match 25 (M)
Poland 9 - 1 Iran
Player of the match: Gracjan Jarzyński (POL)
Umpires: Zeke Newman (AUS), Rachel Williams (ENG)
Result: Match 26 (M)
Australia 4 - 3 Namibia
Player of the match: Thomas Miotto (AUS)
Umpires: Ayden Shrives (RSA), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)
Result: Match 27 (M)
Germany 6 - 1 South Africa
Player of the match: Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji (GER)
Umpires: Sean Edwards (ENG), Michael Pontus (BEL)
Result: Match 28 (M)
Austria 4 - 2 Belgium
Player of the match: Sebastian Eitenberger (AUT)
Umpires: Pieter Hembrecht (NED), Ben Goentgen (GER)
Women
Result: Match 25 (W)
New Zealand 3 - 2 Croatia
Player of the match: Kirsten Pearce (NZL)
Umpires: Salman (INA), Kristy Robertson (AUS)
Result: Match 26 (W)
Australia 2 - 3 South Africa
Player of the match: Laylaa Davids (RSA)
Umpires: Melina Illanes (ARG), Abby Macarthur (WAL)
Result: Match 27 (W)
Thailand 2 - 3 Namibia
Player of the match: Kiana-Ché Cormack (NAM)
Umpires: Emily Carroll (AUS), Ivona Makar (CRO)
Result: Match 28 (W)
Belgium 6 - 5 United States
Player of the match: Daphne Gose-Claessens (BEL)
Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER), Kristy Robertson (AUS)
Result: Match 29 (W)
Germany 2 - 2 Austria (SO: 1 - 3)
Player of the match: Katharina Bauer (AUT)
Umpires: Emily Carroll (AUS), Melina Illanes (ARG)
Result: Match 30 (W)
Poland 3 - 1 Czechia
Player of the match: Marlena Rybacha (POL)
Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER), Ana Ortega (ESP)
All images: ©FIH/WorldSportPics
