Hockey World Cup: Netherlands, France register contrasting wins

ROURKELA: Seasoned Thierry Brinkman struck a brace of goals as the Netherlands romped to a 4-0 victory against New Zealand in their Pool C encounter in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on Monday. Brinkman scored twice in the first quarter, slamming home field-goals in the 2nd and 12th minutes of the match. Koen Bijen (19th min) and Tjep Hoedemakers (54th min) scored the fourth goal for the Dutch who won the title in 1973, 1990 and 1998. The Netherlands had started their campaign for their fourth title with a 4-0 win against Malaysia. On Monday, they handed the same verdict to New Zealand, who had scored a narrow 3-1 win against Chile in their opening match, to virtually seal a place in the quarterfinal.

They have six points from two wins while New Zealand and Malaysia, who defeated Chile 3-2 earlier in the day, have three points each from two matches. Chile have lost both their matches so far and are yet to open their account. Meanwhile a late strike from Victor Charlet helped France keep their hopes of progress in the ongoing FIH Men's Hockey World Cup alive after defeating a valiant South Africa 2-1 in their Pool A match at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar today. With the win, France now sits third in their pool with three points, behind table-toppers Australia and Argentina due to one loss and an inferior goal difference. South Africa, on the other hand, lies at the bottom of the points table with zero points and two losses in two games.

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