With Australia contesting the other Men’s World League Semi-Final in Belgium, the fight is on in Buenos Aires between the nations who are queuing behind the number one ranked team to attempt to knock the Kookaburras from their perch.
Leading the charge is the Netherlands, a team desperate to return to winning ways after finishing in silver medal position in both the Olympics and the World Cup. The Netherlands is the defending champion of the Hockey World League, but the team, led by FIH Coach of the Year Max Caldas, will want to secure both its passage to the World League Final and a place at Rio 2016.
Breathing over the Oranje shoulders is Germany. Ranked three in the world, reigning Olympic Champions and 2014 Champions Trophy winners, the team led by charismatic coach, Marcus Weise, will be seeking to stamp their authority in Buenos Aires and have a wealth of talent at their disposal to make that happen.
But it is the middle-ranking teams that will be out to upset the world ranking order. The hockey-mad Argentine crowds will be willing their home side to victory, and as Los Leones so ably demonstrated in the World Cup, they are a bunch of players with enormous belief and in Carlos Retegui, they have a coach who exudes so much passion from the sideline he can will a team to victory.
New Zealand and Korea are both teams with the capability to win matches. New Zealand come to Buenos Aires with a side packed with experience, and a huge desire to take a medal home. They also know this is their best chance to qualify for Rio 2016, as they have yet to beat Australia in the continental championships, the Oceania Cup.
Spain and Canada meet on the opening day of the Semi-Final, and this will be an important fixture for both teams as they look to get their campaigns off to a winning start. Ranked 11 and 15 respectively, these are two teams who could beat anyone on their day, but three points will give either team a strong platform from which to mount an attack.
Japan come into the Semi-Finals on the back of a 3-1 series loss to India. With Tokyo 2020 on the horizon, Japan will be looking to peak in five years time, and this event, plus the opportunity to compete in the World League Final will be a big motivational factor. The Japan team’s form in recent competitions does not make for happy reading, but this is a wide-open competition.
Finally, the two lowest ranked teams in Buenos Aires are Egypt and Austria. The two teams are the epitome of what the Hockey World League is all about. Ranked 20 and 22 respectively, the teams have made their way through Round One and Two and are now in a position to compete against the best hockey players in the world. Sport doesn’t get much better than this.
