On Tuesday, the third day of matches in Oman, the Netherlands and Malaysia won their quarter-finals and semi-finals to create an interesting final to be crowned the first-ever Men's FIH Hockey 5-a-side World Champions.
The Netherlands defeated India in the best-of-eight play-off and Oman in the semi-finals to book their place in the final.
Meanwhile, Malaysia advanced to the gold medal match by defeating Trinidad and Tobago and then an even stronger Poland.
This leaves Oman and Poland competing for the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Pakistan will play Switzerland for the spoils in the Challenger Trophy, which is contested by teams that did not make it to the quarter-finals.
This is how the action went on the third day…
The Netherlands won the first semi-final of the day with a relatively easy 5-3 victory, ending Oman's impressive run in the hosts' first ever FIH World Cup. The Netherlands took control in the first half and built a 3-0 lead before the break. Oman fought back well to win in the second half, but the Netherlands used all their previous experience to dominate the ball and dictate the pace. The Netherlands deserve to be finalists, but Oman can go into the bronze medal match with great pride.
Dutch captain Imre Vos said after the win: “It's a great feeling to be in the final. It's been a great tournament so far against a great opponent and we had to be attentive throughout the match. Every time we lost concentration a little bit.''Throughout the tournament, our opponents punished us, so it was tough, but I'm still very happy to make it to the final. ”
Malaysia overcame Poland's onslaught in the final stages and won 4-3 in the second semi-final match. Both teams played a tense and disciplined first half, with the score tied at 1-1 at halftime. Malaysia took the lead with a long-range shot just after half-time and added two more points to take a 4-1 lead with six minutes remaining. Poland made a comeback and scored two goals in the closing stages, but missed the chance to challenge as time ran out.
Malaysia captain Akhimullah Anuar, who scored twice in the semi-finals, said after the match: “I have to give credit to the team. We have sacrificed a lot to get here. We won the tournament in 2016. “I didn't start it,” he said. The draw against Oman was the best for us, but since then we have improved with each match to get to this point. ”
On the other hand, in the 5th place deciding matchth – 8th India's Uttam Singh and Kenya's Moses Ademba scored hat-tricks in India's 9-4 win over Kenya, while Egypt's Hosameruddin Ragab also scored a hat-trick in their 8-5 win over Trinidad and Tobago. .
Early morning of the quarterfinals Netherlands came from behind to beat India 7-4 in the third innings. It was three goals in three minutes before the break that ultimately gave the Netherlands a 5-3 lead, but even Mohammed Raheel's hat-trick was not enough to bring India back into the match.
Hosts Oman absorbed all the early pressure from Kenya and took full control, winning 5-2 and scoring a hat-trick from Khalid Al Shaaibi, sealing the team's semi-final spot at their first FIH World Cup. contributed to the expansion.
Poland won 2-1 at home in a thrilling match against Egypt. Goalkeepers Maciej Pakanovski and Mohamed Hemid put in a great performance and both had to make desperate saves as the score went into the final stages deadlocked at 1-1. Poland decided the match with a challenge as time expired.
Malaysia defeated Trinidad and Tobago 5-4, trailing three times, but got off to a strong start to the second half and built a 5-3 lead. Trinidad and Tobago fought back hard in the last minute and scored one goal, but a good save from Shahrul Saupi with 30 seconds remaining prevented them from tying the game.
challenger trophy
9-a-side in playoffsth up to 12th In this position, with both teams competing for the newly introduced Challenger Trophy, Pakistan's Rana Waheed scored five goals as his team defeated Australia 11-3. Switzerland scored two late goals against New Zealand and Elias Bronniman completed his hat-trick in 29 games.th They tied the score in the first minute and added another goal in the shootout, giving Switzerland a 2-1 victory.
in 13 yearsth-16th In the playoffs, the United States completely dominated Jamaica, winning 8-1. Nigeria came back from a two-goal deficit against Fiji and won 2-1 on penalties, with Dennis Solomon scoring a late equalizer to complete his hat-trick.
FIH Hockey5s World Cup, Oman – January 30th
Result: Game 29 (M)
Netherlands 7 – 4 India
Result: Match 30 (M)
Oman 5 – 2 Kenya
Result: Match 31 (M)
Egypt 1 – 2 Poland
Result: Match 32 (M)
Trinidad and Tobago 4 – 5 Malaysia
Result: Match 33 (M)
Jamaica 1 – 8 USA
Result: Match 34 (M)
Nigeria 5 – 5 Fiji (SO: 2-1)
Result: Match 35 (M)
Pakistan 11 – 3 Australia
Result: Match 36 (M)
Switzerland 7 – 7 New Zealand (SO: 2-1)
Result: Match 37 (M)
India 9 – 4 Kenya
Result: Match 38 (M)
Egypt 8 – 5 Trinidad and Tobago
Result: Match 39 (M)
Netherlands 5-3 Oman
Result: Match 40 (M)
Poland 3 – 4 Malaysia
