At the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in Delhi, England suffered their first defeat of the competition at the hands of Spain (0-2) and Australia grabbed the lead of pool B with their victory over Pakistan (2-1), while South Africa produced another excellent performance to tie India (3-3).
Game 25 – Spain v. England: 2-0 (half-time: 1-0)
England, still unbeaten in this competition, were the first qualified for the semi-finals of this World Cup, while Spain, semi-finalists of the last three World Cups, needed to beat England, then count on Pakistan beating Australia later in the day, to have a chance to make their way to the final four on goal difference.
Match facts (Spain v. England):
> Spain will play in the Final 5-6 on Friday, 12 March, unless PAK beat AUS by at least 13 goals.
> Spain have featured in the Final 5-6 three times winning on all three occasions beating ENG (3-0 in 1973), India (2-0 in1978) and Argentina (3-2 in 1986).
> Pau Quemada scored his 4th PC goal at Delhi 2010.
> Eduard Tubau scored his first goal in Delhi and his ninth in World Cup competition. Only Ignacio Escudé has scored more World Cup goals for Spain (11).
> This marked the first time England failed to score in a WC match since they fell 1-0 to Korea on 8 September 2006.
> England have now failed in score in 3 of 7 World Cup matches against Spain.
> Australia can now finish top in Pool A if they beat Pakistan.
Game 26 – Australia v. Pakistan: 2-1 (half-time: 0-1)
In the second game of the day, Australia had a chance to top the pool with a win, thanks to their goal difference boosted by their record win against South Africa (12-0). They were facing a Pakistani outfit struggling in this competition, with defeats at the hands of India, England and South Africa and a meagre win over Spain.
Match facts (Australia v. Pakistan):
> Australia beat Pakistan 2-1 to become group winner in Pool B, beating England on goal difference.
> This is Australia’s ninth semi-final berth. Only Germany has played more semi-final matches (10, excluding 2010).
> Pakistan will finish 5th or 6th in the Pool depending on the result of the South Africa – India match.
> Des Abbott scored twice to lift his WC total to four goals. He now joins Glenn Turner (AUS) as player with most field goals scored at Delhi 2010 (4).
> Sohail Abbas, Pakistan’s top goal scorer in WC competition is now on 18 goals. The all-time WC record stands at 26 goals and is held by Paul Litjens (NED). Amongst active players only Taeke Taekema (NED) has scored more goals (19).
Game 27 – South Africa v. India: 3-3 (half-time: 1-2)
The last game of pool B opposed South Africa and India, both with three losses and only one win. South Africa were nevertheless in a positive mind after their historic win against Pakistan while India had lost three games in a row since their opening win against arch-rivals Pakistan. Unfortunately, the local crowd had lost some of its devoted patience for its team and the venue was only half full when it was overcrowded for the previous games of the host team.
Match facts (South Africa v. India):
> India finish four and qualify for the Final 7-8. This is their best WC result since 1994, when they finished fifth.
> India have never played in a Final 7-8 match in World Cup competition.
> South Africa, ranked 13th in the world, will play the Final 9-10. They will at least equal their best WC result ever which is 10th place in 1994.
> South Africa have now conceded 28 goals in five matches at Delhi 2010.
> India hold on to their unbeaten status in World Cup matches against South Africa: 1 win and 3 draws.
> Pakistan will play the Final 11-12, like they did in 1986 (11th), when they got their worst result in World Cup competition.
Results Day 9 - Monday 8 March 2010
Spain v. England 2:0 (1:0)
ESP 35mn Pau QUEMADA (PC) 1:0
ESP 64mn Eduard TUBAU (FG) 2:0
Australia v. Pakistan 2:1 (0:1)
PAK 24mn Sohail ABBAS (PC) 0:1
AUS 39mn Desmond ABBOTT (FG) 1:1
AUS 68mn Desmond ABBOTT (FG) 2:1
South Africa v. India 3:3 (1:2)
RSA 8mn Lloyd NORRIS-JONES (FG) 1:0
IND 17mn Sarvanjit SINGH (FG) 1:1
IND 24mn Vikram PILLAY (FG) 1:2
RSA 39mn Justin REID-ROSS (PC) 2:2
RSA 47mn Austin SMITH (PC) 3:2
IND 66mn Shivendra SINGH (FG) 3:3
Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1) Netherlands 10 pts 2) Germany 8 pts 3) Korea 7pts 4) New Zealand 6 pts 5) Argentina 3 pts 6) Canada 0 pt
Pool B: 1) Australia 12 pts (+17) 2) England 12 pts (+5) 3) Spain 9 pts 4) India 4 pts (-4) 5) South Africa 4 pts (-15) 6) Pakistan 3 p.
