Australia, of course....

29/08/2009

Kookaburras advance to World Cup with Oceania Cup victory

Kookaburras 3 New Zealand 1 (2-1 half time) Goals New Zealand – Nick Wilson Kookaburras – Grant Schubert 2, Jamie Dwyer 1

The Kookaburras have booked their spot at the Hero Honda FIH 2010 World Cup by defeating New Zealand 3-1 today at Invercargill, New Zealand to win the Oceania Cup. After watching the Hockeyroos go down to New Zealand earlier in the day for the women’s division of the Oceania Cup, the Kookaburras were determined to begin the match well. Unfortunately New Zealand had plans of their own, with Nick Wilson scoring the first goal of the match after a nice breakaway. Veteran and Olympic gold medallists Grant Schubert provided the spark needed for the Kookaburras, scoring two first half goals, the second coming just moments before half time. Continuing their momentum, the Kookaburras controlled the tempo after half time, but were unable to make the most of their various opportunities and further extend their one goal lead. With this New Zealand continued to grow in confidence as they remained within striking distance. A sustained period of New Zealand possession followed but the Black Sticks were unable to peg back the much needed goal. With just over a minute to play New Zealand forced their first penalty corner of the match but Hayden Shaw’s drag flick attempt was wide of the left post. Jamie Dwyer hammered the final nail into New Zealand’s coffin in the final play of the match, a cracking shot from a penalty corner. The Kookaburras will now plan their program towards the 2010 World Cup which will be played in New Delhi, India from February 28 – March 13, 2010. However their focus for the remainder of the year will be towards the ABN AMRO Hockey Champions Trophy which will be played in Melbourne from November 28 – December 6.

England crowned European King

The English men’s team pulled off a major upset in the final of the EuroHockey Nations Championships in Amstelveen, Netherlands on Sunday. The English team defeated Olympic and World Champion Germany (5:3) to become the new European Champion.

Host Netherlands finally claimed the bronze medal after a disappointing tournament. The Dutch secured a podium place after a 6:1 win over Spain. England, Germany, Netherlands and Spain earned direct qualification for the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in New Delhi, India.

Results Sunday 30 August 2009

Final:
England-Germany 5:3

Bronze medal match:
Netherlands-Spain 6:1

Classification 5-8:
Austria-Poland 5:4
Belgium-France 7:0

Final Ranking:

1. England (Qualified for Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010)
2. Germany (Qualified for Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010)
3. Netherlands (Qualified for Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010)
4. Spain (Qualified for Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010)
5. Belgium
6. France
7. Austria
8. Poland

Malaysia to play in NZ Qualifier?

Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010, New Delhi, India, 28 February-13 March 2010

A SMART GUESS on probable World Cup Qualifiers:

In France:
Pakistan, France, Japan, Egypt, Austria, Chile

In New Zealand
China, New Zealand, Malaysia, Poland, Scotland, Italy

In Argentina
Belgium, Ireland, Argentina, Czech Rep, Russia, USA.

THOSE WHO HAVE QUALIFIED

• India (Host)
• Canada (Champion of the 3^rd Men’s Pan American Cup)
• Korea (Champion of the 8^th Men’s Asia Cup)
• South Africa (Champion of the Africa Cup of Nations, 2009)
• Australia (Champion of the 6^th Men’s Oceania Cup)
• England (Champion of the 12^th Men’s EuroHockey Nations Championship)
• Germany (Silver medalist of the 12^th Men’s EuroHockey Nations Championship)
• Netherlands (Bronze medalist of the 12^th Men’s EuroHockey Nations Championship)
• Spain (Fourth ranked team of the 12^th Men’s EuroHockey Nations Championship)

3 vacancies left:

• Winner of the Men’s World Cup Qualification Tournament – No. 1
• Winner of the Men’s World Cup Qualification Tournament – No. 2
• Winner of the Men’s World Cup Qualification Tournament – No. 3

Quotas for Men’s World Cup Qualification Tournament

Africa: 1 (EGY)
Asia: 4 (CHN, JPN, MAS, PAK)
Europe: 9 (AUT, BEL, CZE, FRA, IRL, POL, RUS, SCO, WAL)
Oceania: 1 (NZL)
Pan America: 3 (ARG, CHI, USA)