Hockey World Cup 2023: Belgium seal quarterfinal spot, 5 hat-tricks on final day of pool play

Australia
and
Belgium
topped
their
groups,
booking
their
quarterfinals
spots,
while
Argentina,
France,
Germany
and
Korea
now
move
on
to
the
crossovers.

Belgium
beat
Japan
7-1

Holders
Belgium
defeated
Japan
7-1
in
the
third
match
of
the
day
and
sealed
their
top
spot
in
Pool
B.
With
a
draw
in
the
previous
game
against
Germany,
The
Red
Lions
needed
a
big
win
against
Japan
to
try
and
seal
their
spot
at
the
top
of
the
pool
and
earn
direct
qualification
to
the
quarterfinals.

The
first-half
hat
trick
by
Tom
Boon
gave
them
a
4-goal
lead
by
the
end
of
the
first
half,
and
increased
their
goal
difference
to
+9,
with
another
30
minutes
to
further
extend
their
lead
over
Germany,
who
had
a
+3
goal
difference
with
one
game
to
go
in
the
final
match
of
the
day
against
Korea.

Hockey
World
Cup
2023:
Australia
thrash
South
Africa
9-2
to
for
direct
quarterfinals
spot

Japan
had
a
much
better
start
to
the
second
half,
keeping
Belgium
out
in
the
3rd
quarter
and
scoring
their
first
of
the
game
early
in
the
4th.
But
Belgium
had
a
much
better
finish
to
the
game
scoring
thrice
in
the
final
10
minutes,
including
2
more
goals
for
Tom
Boon,
to
win
with
a
6-goal
margin
and
bump
their
overall
goal
difference
to
+11.

Tom
Boon
who
became
only
the
4th
ever
player
to
score
5
goals
in
a
World
Cup
game,
was
awarded
player
of
the
match
and
said:
“I
think
after
scoring
no
goals
in
the
first
quarter,
it’s
good
to
get
7
goals
and
a
+6
goal
difference
in
the
final
3
quarters.
Looking
forward
to
playing
in
the
knockouts
going
forward.”

Germany
hammer
Korea
7-2

The
final
game
of
the
day
was
also
the
final
game
of
the
pool
stages,
with
Germany
needing
a
win
by
9
goals
to
overtake
Belgium
in
the
Pool
B
standings
and
gain
direct
entry
into
the
quarterfinals,
but
against
an
in-from
Korea
team
that
would
prove
to
be
too
big
a
mountain
to
climb
for
the
Honamas.

Germany
did
start
the
game
brightly,
scoring
in
the
second
minute
of
the
game,
through
Niklas
Wellen,
but
by
the
end
of
the
first
quarter,
Korea
had
pulled
a
goal
back
to
keep
the
scores
level.
Wellen,
who
is
in
red-hot
scoring
form,
gave
Germany
their
lead
back
before
their
half-time,
but
with
just
a
1-goal
lead
halfway
through
the
game,
German
hopes
of
topping
the
group
were
rapidly
fading.

The
second
half
started
frantically
as
both
teams
traded
end-to-end
counter-attacks.
Korea
had
the
best
chance
in
the
32nd
minute
with
Junwoo
Jeong
finding
shooting
space
in
the
German
circle,
but
his
venomous
hit
sailed
inches
over
the
goal.

Wellen
increased
the
German
lead
completing
his
hat-trick
in
the
41st
minute
and
Gonzalo
Peillat
added
another
for
the
Honamas
in
the
43rd
minute
from
their
6th
penalty
corner
of
the
day.

The
4th
quarter
saw
Germany
overrun
Korea
in
attack,
scoring
thrice
in
the
first
7
minutes,
but
Korea
retreated
into
their
defence
as
German
attempts
at
overtaking
Belgium
fell
narrowly
short.
Korea
added
a
second
goal
in
the
final
minute
as
they
won
a
penalty
corner
while
the
Germans
had
subbed
their
keeper
out
for
an
outfield
player.

Hat-trick
hero
Niklas
Wellen
was
awarded
player
of
the
match
and
said:
“We
knew
how
many
goals
we
needed
to
finish
top
of
the
group,
and
we
fell
short
by
a
couple
of
goals,
but
2
wins
and
a
draw
from
the
three
pool
stage
matches
is
a
very
good
result
for
us
on
the
whole.”

5
hat
tricks
on
final
day
of
pool
action

Incredibly,
all
4
games
saw
at
least
one
player
score
a
hat-trick,
with
the
second
game
between
France
and
Argentina
producing
two,
as
Blake
Govers
(AUS),
Victor
Charlet
(FRA),
Nicolas
della
Torre
(ARG),
Tom
Boon
(BEL)
and
Niklas
Wellen
(GER)
all
scored
at
least
thrice
for
their
teams.

A
total
of
38
goals
were
scored
across
the
4
games
on
the
day,
for
a
whopping
average
of
9.5
goals
per
game!

Source:
Media
Release