MUSCAT: Germany and Great Britain booked the tickets for Paris Olympics 2024 after moving into the final of the FIH Men’s Olympic Qualifier at Hockey Oman Stadium in Al Amerat on Saturday.
Germany eased past Pakistan 4-0 in the first semifinal while Great Britain saw off New Zealand 3-1 in the second semifinal. Pakistan and New Zealand will meet in the third-place play-off on Sunday (6 pm) to decide the third spot from the Qualifier. The final is also slated for Sunday at 8.30 pm.
World champions Germany made a flawless display of hockey against Pakistan who with their high efforts could not breach the German defence.
In the second semifinal, it was a tough contest between World No 4 Great Britain and New Zealand.
Great Britain struck first when Phil Roper scored after a nice move in the 18th minute. Star player Sam Ward made it 2-0 in the next minute for Britain from a penalty corner.
New Zealand pushed hard for a goal and Kane Russell found the target in the 26th minute from a penalty corner. At the half-time Team GB led 2-1.
Ward netted his second goal in the additional time of third quarter (45+) to give a 3-1 cushion to Britain.
MINIMUM MISTAKES
Player of the match Niklas Wellen said it was a great effort from the Germans to qualify for the Paris Games 2024.
“The match was a really good one for us. We managed to reduce our mistakes to a minimum and credit to the boys for booking the ticket to Paris,” Wellen told the Observer.
“Pakistan were tough opponents and we didn’t give them space in our area and our defence worked really well in the match,” he added.
Germany captain Mats Grambusch said it was a great moment to seal the Olympic spot.
“We had worked hard for it and the semifinal against Pakistan was the culminating moment for getting the reward,” Grambusch said.
The German captain praised the facilities at the Hockey Oman Stadium and said he wanted to explore Oman. “Oman is a beautiful country with nice and welcoming people.”
The match started with German pressure on the Pakistan penalty area and they earned the first penalty corner in the 11th minute. Tom Grambusch struck the opening goal for the World No 5 team.
Germany got another penalty corner in the 13th minute but missed the target. Their third penalty corner after three minutes was well defended by Pakistan.
Niklas Wellen then increased the lead with a brilliant field goal from a tough angle as Germany moved up 2-0 at the start of second quarter. Pakistan made some attacks but could not make an impact at the German D.
At half-time Germany led 2-0.
The third quarter started with Pakistan making all-round efforts to score a goal. Their best chance came in the 35th minute but the shot went just wide of the German post.
Next minute, Pakistan followed up the earlier move with a penetrating attack but was saved by a timely reflex by German goalkeeper Alexander Stadler.
Germany came back strong in the 39th minute with another precision strike, this time by Justus Weigand as they went up 3-0.
Niklas Wellen hit his second goal when he was on target from a penalty corner as a moment of defensive lapse cost Pakistan to concede the fourth goal.
Further efforts by Pakistan in the last quarter didn’t see the results as Germany happily settled for a 4-0 result and a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
In the placement matches for fifth to eighth positions, Malaysia thumped Chile 5-0 while Canada beat China 3-1.
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