Match Week 6 of the FIH Hockey Pro League will feature New Zealand’s national teams hosting USA women and the men of Spain in Christchurch, while the Netherlands men and women head to Buenos Aires for hugely anticipated matches against home favourites Argentina.
More information about all of this week’s double headers can be found below, with the complete match schedule available by clicking here.
New Zealand v USA (W)
Where: Nga Puna Wai Hockey Stadium, Christchurch (NZL)
When: 15 & 16 Feb 2020, 1700 (15 Feb) & 1500 (16 Feb) local time (GMT/UTC +13)
Summary: After four matches in Auckland that generated a total of four points, the Black Sticks women (FIH World Ranking: 7) arrive in Christchurch knowing that two wins against USA (WR:14), who have zero points from their three previous matches, will generate some much needed momentum to their FIH Hockey Pro League 2020 campaign. Comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Great Britain on Saturday (8 February), New Zealand produced a much-improved performance on Sunday (9 February) to draw 2-2 with the Olympic champions before GB took the bonus point in the shoot-out.
The Black Sticks have won ten of their previous 19 matches against USA, with five wins for the Americans and four draws. USA could hardly have had a more difficult start to this year’s competition, with the Netherlands and Argentina – number one and three respectively in the FIH World Rankings – both proving too strong for Caroline Nelson-Nichols’ talented but raw team. Despite suffering heavy defeats, this is a side that is learning fast and looking to improve every time they take to the field. If USA win one of the two matches, they will climb up to 13th in the FIH World Rankings.
Match pages (Head-to-heads, squads* & officials*): Match 1 | Match 2
New Zealand v Spain (M)
Where: Nga Puna Wai Hockey Stadium, Christchurch (NZL)
When: 15 & 16 Feb 2020, 1930 (15 Feb) & 1730 (16 Feb) local time (GMT/UTC +13)
Summary: Very much like the New Zealand versus USA women’s match, the double-header between the Black Sticks men (WR:9) and Spain (WR:8) features two teams desperately in search of points. Bottom-of-the-table New Zealand have two points from their four matches played so far, while Spain, who sit seventh, have played six matches and accrued four points. As well as the quest for Pro League points, there is also plenty riding on this match in terms of the FIH World Rankings. Should the Black Sticks claim more points than Spain over the course of the weekend, they will move up to eighth in the rankings, a position currently held by the Red Sticks. Spain have the edge in terms of recent head-to-heads, winning six of their nine meetings since 2013, with two wins for New Zealand and one draw.
Spain got the better of New Zealand twice in the 2019 Pro League, claiming a shoot-out bonus point when the sides met in Auckland and winning outright in Madrid by three goals to two. Spain and New Zealand both achieved notable results last Saturday (8 February); Pau Quemada scored a brilliant late penalty corner to give the Red Sticks a 4-3 win over Olympic champions Argentina in Buenos Aires, while an outstanding goalkeeping performance from Richard Joyce helped New Zealand win a shoot-out against Great Britain in Auckland to earn a bonus point. Despite both losing the second of their respective double headers, enough quality was displayed to suggest that the outcome of this meeting will not be easy to predict.
Match pages: Match 1 | Match 2
Argentina v Netherlands (M)
Where: CENARD, Buenos Aires (ARG)
When: 15 & 16 Feb 2020, both 1800 local time (GMT/UTC -3)
Summary: Argentina men (WR: 5), the reigning Olympic and Pan American champions, come into their double-header with the Netherlands (WR:3) on the back of differing results against Spain in Buenos Aires last weekend. In the opening match on Friday (7 February), Los Leones were ahead three times before eventually suffering a 4-3 defeat, bouncing back superbly in Saturday’s (8 February) second match as Lucas Martinez scored twice in a 5-1 triumph. German Orozco’s team will be looking to build upon that solid foundation with a strong performance against a Netherlands team coached by Max Caldas, who played alongside Orozco for Argentina at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
After earning just one point from their two away matches against India, the Oranje enjoyed a more fruitful trip to Spain where they took all six points on offer in Valencia, winning 4-3 and 4-2. Twenty-two-year-old penalty corner expert Jip Janssen made a telling contribution in those games by scoring four times, taking his season’s tally to five and make him the current top scorer in this year’s men’s Pro League competition. The outcome of these matches has significance in terms of the FIH World Rankings, with two Argentina victories being enough for Los Leones to move from fifth to third, which would in turn force the Dutch down one place to fourth.
Match pages: Match 1 | Match 2
Argentina v Netherlands (W)
Where: CENARD, Buenos Aires (ARG)
When: 15 & 16 Feb 2020, both 2030 local time (GMT/UTC -3)
Summary: In arguably the biggest clash of the weekend, Argentina’s women (WR:3) take on reigning World, European and Pro League champions the Netherlands (WR:1). The two teams have a long and fierce rivalry, and there is plenty riding on these latest encounters. Las Leonas, the Pan American champions, made a flying start to their 2020 Pro League campaign with two big wins over USA, and know that just one win this weekend against the Oranje will see them move into second place in the FIH World Rankings. However, they face a team that, like them, has a 100% win record in this season’s competition, having defeated China twice in Changzhou before beating USA 9-0 in a match that, due to the cancellation of the first game, was worth six points.
Whilst Alyson Annan’s Netherlands’ team are in sensational form, two away matches in Argentina will certainly provide the Dutch with their toughest challenge to date. That said, the Netherlands’ recent record against Argentina is notable, winning eight and losing just three of their previous 11 meetings. With both sides clearly in form and potentially four 2019 FIH Hockey Stars Awards nominees in action – Carla Rebecchi (ARG: Best Player), Frederique Matla (NED: Best Player / Rising Star), Eva de Goede (NED: Best Player) and Julieta Jankunas (ARG: Rising Star) – these two matches have all the elements required to satisfy the high expectations.
Match pages: Match 1 | Match 2
To find out how you can watch the action, please visit our broadcast page byclicking here. In territories where broadcast rights agreements are not in place, fans can watch live match action from the FIH Hockey Pro League via the FIH.live global broadcast platform. To visit FIH.live, click here.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via theevent websiteand through FIH social media channels -Facebook,Instagram and Twitter.
Want to win tickets to an FIH Hockey Pro League match? Here’s what you have to do! Take a quick snap or record a video to capture your “best FIH Hockey Pro League moment” and post it on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, using the hashtag #MyProLeagueMoment. For more info, click here.
* available 48 hours before each match
#FIHProLeague
