Hockey World Cup 2023: Netherlands beat Australia 3-1 to secure bronze medal

Netherlands
and
Australia
went
head-to-head
in
the
bronze
medal
match,
where
Jeremy
Hayward
gave
them
an
early
lead,
but
an
incredible
3-goal
burst
in
8
minutes
in
the
third
quarter,
with
captain
Thierry
Brinkman
scoring
twice,
gave
the
Netherlands
the
lead
that
they
would
take
to
the
end
and
win
the
bronze
medal.

With
the
win,
followed
by
Belgium’s
loss
in
the
finals,
Netherlands
moved
up
to
the
second
position
in
the
FIH
Men’s
World
Outdoor
Rankings,
followed
by
silver
medalists
Belgium
who
are
now
ranked
third
ahead
of
Australia,
who
end
the
tournament
ranked
fourth.

Netherlands
started
the
game
on
the
front
foot,
with
Theijs
van
Dam
getting
a
powerful
shot
into
the
circle
looking
for
a
Dutch
deflection,
but
Hoedemakers
couldn’t
get
on
the
end
of
the
cross
and
Australia
survived
an
early
scare.

Australia
started
settling
into
the
game
midway
through
the
first
quarter
and
a
pass
into
the
circle
by
Jeremy
Hayward
found
captain
Zalewski
open
on
the
right
of
the
goal,
but
his
shot/cross
went
wide
off
the
mark
with
Blake
Govers
missing
a
deflection
from
point
blank
range.

Australia
scored
the
opening
goal
of
the
game
through
Jeremy
Hayward
who
scored
his
100th
goal
in
his
200th
appearance
for
Australia.
It
was
a
double
blow
for
the
Dutch
who
had
referred
the
penalty
corner
and
lost
their
review
early
in
the
first
quarter.

Netherlands
won
their
first
penalty
corner
of
the
game
in
the
20th
minute
but
Jip
Janssen’s
powerful
flick
went
straight
as
an
arrow
and
Charter
managed
to
pull
off
a
comfortable
save
to
deny
the
Netherlands
their
first
big
chance
since
the
opening
minute.

Both
teams
traded
opportunities
to
close
the
opening
half,
with
big
chances
falling
to
Koen
Bijen
for
the
Dutch
and
Blake
Govers
for
the
Kookaburras,
but
both
star
forwards
were
off
targets
with
their
running
shots
and
the
teams
headed
into
the
break
with
Australia
holding
a
slender
one-goal
advantage
against
the
Dutch.

Netherlands
started
the
second
half
with
a
high
press,
which
was
a
tactic
that
worked
quite
well
for
Germany
in
the
semi-finals.
The
ploy
seemed
to
work
well
for
Netherlands
as
well
as
they
earned
three
quick
penalty
corners
inside
the
first
two
minutes
of
the
second
half,
and
with
the
third
attempt,
Jip
Janssen
opened
his
account
in
the
game
with
a
powerful
drag
to
the
right
of
Charter
to
bring
the
teams
level.

Two
minutes
later,
Netherlands
were
in
the
lead
as
a
clearance
attempt
by
Tim
Howard
was
blocked
by
Wortelboer
in
the
circle
and
the
resulting
loose
ball
was
put
into
the
goal
by
Dutch
captain
Thierry
Brinkman.
Australia
started
to
press
higher
in
search
for
an
equaliser,
but
it
was
Netherlands
again
who
capitalised
with
a
quick
counter
as
van
Dam’s
run
from
the
half
line
produced
a
cross
that
found
Brinkman
unmarked
at
the
back
post
and
he
made
no
mistake
in
doubling
Netherlands
lead.

Australia
entered
the
final
15
minutes
needing
to
score
at
least
2
goals
to
keep
their
hopes
of
winning
a
medal
at
the
World
Cup
alive.
Their
high
press
gave
Netherlands
a
lot
to
do
in
defence,
but
Jorrit
Croon,
along
with
Blok
and
Jansen,
were
stellar
in
the
Dutch
defensive
circle,
stopping
waves
of
Australian
crosses
into
the
circle.

Netherlands
believed
they
had
scored
the
4th
goal
of
the
game
midway
through
the
quarter
with
Koen
Bijen
knocking
the
ball
into
the
goal
on
the
back
post,
but
a
foul
in
the
build-up
reversed
the
goal
as
Australia
breathed
a
sigh
of
relief.
But
Netherlands
continued
their
excellent
defence
and
as
time
ran
out,
they
ran
out
winners,
earning
their
third
bronze
medal
at
the
men’s
World
Cups.

Captain
Thierry
Brinkman
was
awarded
player
of
the
match
and
said:
“We
were
playing
quite
well
in
the
first
half
but
couldn’t
convert
our
chances.
We
didn’t
change
anything
in
the
second
half,
we
were
just
better
at
converting
our
opportunities
and
the
way
we
have
played
today
and
through
the
tournament,
we
deserve
this
bronze
medal.”

FIH
Hockey
World
Cup
2023
Full
List
of
Award
Winners

Fair
Play
Award:
Team
Belgium

Maximum
Team
Goals:
Netherlands

Best
Team
Goal
Celebration:
Korea

Fan’s
Choice
Award:
Christopher
Rühr
(Germany)

JSP
Foundation
Best
Junior
Player
of
the
Tournament:
Mustaphaa
Cassiem
(South
Africa)

Hero
Top
Scorer:
Jeremy
Hayward
(Australia)

JSW
Best
Goalkeeper:
Vincent
Vanasch
(Belgium)

Best
Defender:
Jeremy
Hayward
(Australia)

Best
Midfielder:
Victor
Wegnez
(Belgium)

Best
Forward:
Niklas
Wellen
(Germany)

Odisha
Best
Player:
Niklas
Wellen
(Germany)

Bronze
Medal:
Team
Netherlands

Silver
Medal:
Team
Belgium

Gold
Medal:
Team
Germany