Pakistan didn’t qualify
There were many offensive displays on day 2 of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup South Africa 2022 as every team was able to register a goal.
As the semifinal image began to take shape, some felt elation and others felt anguish. With one more pool match to play, Korea, Ireland, and South Africa each achieved two victories in two games to advance to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, after receiving no points from their first two games, Pakistan, Canada, and France are no longer eligible to qualify.
In both the men’s and women’s divisions, the FIH Hockey Nations Cup contains the top eight teams not already a part of the FIH Hockey Pro League (according to world rankings).
The eight teams are divided into two pools, each with four teams, with the top two teams from each pool moving on to the semi-finals and beyond. In the next season, the bottom-placed FIH Hockey Pro League team will be replaced by the winner of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup.
Malaysia’s comeback victory over Canada and a subsequent matchup with Japan in the last pool match keep their chances of qualifying alive. Malaysia will join Korea in the semifinals if they win, while Japan will be satisfied with a draw due to their better goal differential.
Match 1: Japan defeats Korea 3-1
In the battle between two Asian rivals, Japan jumped out to an early lead, but Jehyeon Kim’s superb goalkeeping and Korea’s subpar finishing kept Korea in the game.
By scoring both before and after the first quarter break, Jonghyun Jang and Sunghyun Kim made Japan pay for the wasted opportunities. A speculative shot by Takuma Niwa that slipped through Jehyeon Kim’s knees gave Japan a point before the break.
Ireland defeats Pakistan 3-1 in game two
Ireland entered the match as the overwhelming favorite following their spectacular victory against France the day before, while Pakistan had suffered a crushing loss to South Africa.
However, the opening period of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup 2022 demonstrated how evenly matched all the teams are, with neither team yielding an advantage. At the beginning of the second quarter, Abdul Shahid of Pakistan scored to give Pakistan the lead. Conor Empey of Ireland answered virtually immediately.
Malaysia 2-3 Canada in the third match
Malaysia had lots of chances but couldn’t find a way to get the decisive shot, and for the majority of the game, it looked as though they would come out on the wrong side of another frustrating contest. However, a 4th quarter surge turned around their situation and netted them 3 key points, making their next game against Japan—where a win would advance them to the semifinals—critical.
South Africa defeats France 2-1 in match 4
Earlier this year, when South Africa and France squared off in the FIH Hockey Pro League, both sides put up offensive performances; the same was true today as the two teams competed in the Nations Cup.
Here are more stories related to hockey.