With just one day to go for the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2023/24, the players and coaches of all teams have spoken to express their expectations. Canada – Sheldon Rostron, Head Coach “As a team we are excited to face some of the best at the Nations Cup in Terrassa, Spain. We are eager to compete again at a high level event which is important to continue the growth of this team as we start a new cycle. These matches will push us and help us gain valuable insights but also show more of what we can expect from this team going forward. We’re ready for a challenge and looking forward to competing at this event.” Chile – Camila Caram, Captain “The Nations Cup will be an interesting tournament, because all the teams are closely contested in the rankings. Every game will be very tough. This is an important challenge, because last time we were seventh and we want to improve that position. The championship will probably be very emotional, but we are focused on the tournament, tactics and technique. We’ll see about the emotional part later. It’s my last tournament with the Diablas after 18 years with the Chile jersey and I want to enjoy the experience to the fullest. It’s nostalgic, but I’m ready to give it my all on the court.” Ireland – Facundo Quiroga, Head Coach “The girls have put in a lot of work over the last three months to arrive at this tournament in the best possible form. They have challenged each other to grow as individuals and as a team, and we are enjoying the hockey we’re playing. I believe we can go far in this Nations Cup if we play our game and enjoy the tough moments of the competition. We have an exciting challenge ahead of us.” Italy – Andres Mondo, Head Coach  “This FIH Nations Cup edition comes at a very complicated period, for all countries and especially for us, because we have a lot of players still involved in National Championships; for this reason, it was also not possible for us to arrange an ideal training. We expect to grow during the tournament, to be competitive and to put new players and new skills in our group. We are very proud and enthusiastic to know that our players always give their best for Italy.” Japan – Yuri Nagai, Captain “For this Nations Cup, we aim to win and make it a great tournament that leads to the Paris Olympics. Our entire team will work hard together. We will make detailed adjustments and prepare well. Thank you for your support.” Korea – Jungeun Seo, Captain “I’m both excited and a bit worried about participating in this year’s Nations Cup. As a senior, it’s my responsibility to lead the juniors in such a big competition, and I’ll do my best to make it a good experience for them. I also need to perform well myself and show what I can do. Competing against world-class teams is going to be tough, but I believe Team Korea can go far. My goal is to lead the players, value teamwork, and become a united team. No matter the outcome, I know we will learn a lot, grow, and come back stronger. I really hope everyone prepares well, stays injury-free, and returns home safely.” New Zealand – Phil Burrows, Head Coach “The team is feeling energised and excited to be back playing tournament hockey. We are very committed to progressing our game throughout the tournament and beyond. Our expectations are to be in the hunt for the Nations Cup, which means our first focus point is topping our pool.” Spain – María López, Captain “We are very excited to play at home in Terrassa. We hope that the Spanish crowd can enjoy our performance and Spain can play the FIH Hockey Pro League next season.” The 2nd edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup will be played from 3 to 9 June 2024 in Terrassa, Spain. All information about the tournament is available here. Source: FIH.hockey

02 Jun, 2024 Due to bad weather conditions – storm and heavy rain – in Gniezno, the matches initially scheduled for today have been postponed to tomorrow as follows: Pakistan vs Canada: 3 June, 11:30am CEST France vs Malaysia: 3 June, 2pm CEST Consequently, the initial starting time of tomorrow’s last two matches has been amended as follows: Korea vs Austria: 3 June, 4:30pm CEST South Africa vs New Zealand: 7pm CEST The second edition of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup (men) started on 31 May in Gniezno, Poland. The women’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup will start tomorrow in Terrassa, Spain. All information, including standings, teams, match schedule and the latest news about both events is available here.

01 Jun, 2024 New Zealand worked on their shortcomings from the first game and settled in at the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Austria. In the other game of the day, Poland earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory to get their first points in the bag against an unlucky Korean side. New Zealand 3-0 Austria  New Zealand controlled the game in the early stages, closing down and maintaining possession with some good exchanges. Halfway through the first quarter, it reflected on the score line as Isaac Houlbrooke squared an easy ball for Jonty Elmes to give them the lead. A lacklustre 30 seconds towards the end of the first quarter almost cost them, but Austria were not able to replicate their deadly penalty corner form from Friday. The Black Sticks started the second quarter finely and thought they had secured an early penalty corner, only for the video referee to say otherwise. Otherwise, there was not a lot of action near the circle despite New Zealand frustrating the Austrians with the ball. The strategy to sit back and hit on the counter did not prove to be successful for Austria, who started energetically after the first half. They managed to keep the New Zealanders quiet until a deadly 90 seconds changed the fate of the game. Elmes got his second of the day in what was almost a carbon copy of his first, with Hugo Inglis feeding him. The cherry on the cake came courtesy of a young Joseph Morrison, who scored his first international goal like a seasoned pro. Hugo Inglis of New Zealand, who was judged player of the match, said: “We stepped it up a notch today. It was a slow start against Poland yesterday and it was nice to get more rhythm today.” Korea 0-1 Poland  Korea showed intensity from the first minute of the match and deservedly earned a penalty corner in five minutes, but failed to capitalise. The Poles gifted them one more after sloppy defending and this time, it was well-saved. With five minutes to go in the first quarter, the hosts failed to find the back of the net from another penalty corner. The well-matched contest saw Poland showing more assertiveness in the second quarter and almost scored when the Koreans switched off, only for Gracjan Jarzyński to miss the target by a whisker. But they kept knocking on the door and finally broke the deadlock thanks to a lovely finish from Mikołaj Głowacki. A sensational save from Maciej Pacanowski with four minutes to go before half-time helped Poland maintain the slender lead. While both teams were lively going forward, the back line was shaky and resulted in a penalty corner each. Once again, it did not bear fruit. It was one-way traffic in the last quarter as the Koreans had nothing to lose and earned two more penalty corners that were squandered. It was a comedy of errors from both teams in Gniezno in that department as Poland did enough to secure three points. Jacek Kurowski, who won player of the match, said: “We were waiting for so long for this and we can be happy with the effort. We are making a great effort to grow our hockey in Poland. It is very difficult to play 15 minutes without one player. But in the end, we have to create more chances. We have two days off and let’s see how we can play the rest of the games.” To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup, click here. FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup  – 1 June 2024  Hockey Stadium – Gniezno, (POL) Result: Match 5 (M) New Zealand 3-0 Austria Player of the match: Hugo Inglis (NZL) Umpires: Federico Silva (ARG), Haroon Rashid (PAK),Michael Dutrieux (BEL-video) Result: Match 6 (M) Korea 0-1 Poland Player of the match: Jacek Kurowski (POL) Umpires: Munashe Mashoko (ZIM), Paul Van Den Assum (NED), Harry Collinson (ENG-video)

31 May, 2024 Malaysia 4-4 Pakistan    Pakistan came back from three goals down to draw 4-4 against Malaysia as the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24 began sensationally.  It was a one-sided first quarter in Gniezno, with Malaysia barely giving any time for a nervy Pakistan to settle down. The constant pressure led to the Green Shirts conceding a penalty stroke that was thumped in by Fitri Saari. Soon after, Abu Kamal Azrai made the most of an opportunity after Pakistan lost possession in midfield. Azrai’s delightful skill before a low and powerful finish doubled the advantage. Malaysia’s third came from a penalty corner from Faizal Saari. However, there was a lengthy video referral before the umpire judged in favour of the Speedy Tigers.  Pakistan turned on the style in the third quarter, and pulled one back as Rana Waheed Ashraf’s mazy run and deflected shot was tapped in by Abdul Rehman. They looked like a rejuvenated side after the first half, but an error in the 42nd minute led to a penalty stroke for Malaysia. Fitri Saari made no mistake and scored his second of the game. It was end-to-end as Sufyan Khan sent a rocket down the middle from a penalty corner to gain momentum back. With nine minutes to go, Pakistan scored their third after a scramble near the box as Hannan Shahid was the quickest to react. The silver medallists of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup earlier this year drew the game level in cinematic style with less than a minute to go. Desperate defending from Malaysia resulted in a penalty stroke that was converted with ease by Abu Mahmood.  Malaysian goalkeeper Zaimi Mat Deris was named player of the match and stressed on the need to be more concrete at the back. He said: “We need more discipline. We need to improve in the next game. Our players have more potential andwe need more game time to showcase that.”  France 4-0 Canada Olympic hosts France began their journey in Poland with a comfortable win over Canada despite a slow start to the game. Both teams started on the front foot and earned a penalty corner each early in the first quarter, but failed to convert. It was a recurring theme throughout the match with France unable to find the back of the net from nine penalty corners.  The first goal came in the 25th minute as Les Bleus stepped on the pedal. The Canadian defenders were frustrating the French, but the deadlock was finally broken with a cheeky finish from Gaspard Baumgarten. The next three of their goals came in the final quarter, but the match provided plenty of drama as both sides missed penalty strokes. The miss from Canada was painful for the team as Brendan Guraliuk powered through the midfield, showcasing excellent dribbling skills before being brought down, only to be outsmarted by Edgar Reynaud from the spot.    The final quarter saw France apply pressure early on and it proved crucial as Baumgarten sent a pile driver from the left. His deflected shot was tapped in by Eliot Curty. In the 53rd minute, another penalty stroke favoured the French and thistime, Victor Charlet made no mistake. A minute later, Curty did the hard work to set up Blaise Rogeau to seal the deal as the Canadians ran out of steam.  Francois Goyet of France was awarded player of the match and his teammate Baumgarten spoke about the importance of the win. He said: “We feel great because it’s the first game of the tournament. It was an important and a good win even though we took time to score the first goal and the other ones. But we didn’t have a goal against us. I am pretty happy with the first game.”  South Africa 3-4 Austria  Penalty corners were the name of the game as Austria joined the comebacks bandwagon against South Africa in an entertaining game. The start saw the higher-ranked South Africa show their class, going up only after four minutes. The lovely team goal started from the midfield as Nqobile Ntuli provided the final touch, falling backwards. They looked the better-organised side in the beginning and underlined that with a well-taken penalty corner by Mathew Guise-Brown.  What initially looked like a one-sided game switched almost instantly when a brisk counter-attack from Josef Winkler earned a penalty corner for Austria, emphatically converted by Julian Kaiser. The speed of play from the Austrians troubled their opponents, who looked like world-beaters in the first five minutes, and another penalty corner in the 20th minute saw them level the scores thanks to Fülöp Losonci. Four minutes before the half-time, Maximilian Scholz gave the Austrians the lead.  The confidence from taking the lead meant that they controlled the game soon after the restart. Drag flickers were giving South Africa a tough time and Scholz got his second of the game to put them in a comfortable position. While South Africa showed that they too could excel at penalty corners with yet another sublime finish from Guise-Brown, Austria did enough to hold on for a crucial win.      Austria’s Xaver Hasun, who was judged player of the match, said: “We went 2-0 down to one of the favourites, and we are a young team. A game like this is incredible and motivating. I am proud of the boys. I am delighted, to be honest. It is great to play with these guys. I haven’t played a lot with most of them. And they have done us proud.” New Zealand 4-2 Poland  The hosts almost gave New Zealand a run for their money as they went down 4-2 in the last match of the day. It would be unfair to say that the home crowd didn’t play their part, but in the end, it was a small difference in quality that made all the difference for the Black Sticks.  Brad Read read the game well and finished off a neat team move to give New

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30 May, 2024 With just one day to go for the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Poland 2023/24, the players and coaches of the participating teams have spoken to express their expectations. Austria – Robin Rösch, Head Coach “Our team is going into the Hockey Nations Cup tournament as underdogs with a young squad. Many of our players are preparing for the U21 European Championships. It will be a huge challenge for us to keep up with such a young team at this level. However, we are looking forward to the opportunity to gain valuable experience and develop further.” Canada – Patrick Tshutshani, Head Coach “The Nations Cup will pose great challenges for us, and we look forward to the challenge. We will strive for more consistency in our play, consistency in our principles of play and consistency in our behaviours. We are looking to piece all these together. By doing this, it will put us in a good position to grow and compete.” France – Frédéric Soyez, Head Coach We’re entering the home stretch for the Olympic Games. This tournament is an important stage in our preparation. We’re going to give it our best shot to qualify for the Pro League next season. Korea – Kim JaeHyeon, Captain “The Nations Cup holds great memories for us, with a strong performance in the first tournament, finishing third, entering the Top 10 globally, and earning the Best Goalkeeper award. Since the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers, we’ve revamped our coaching staff and players. I promise continuous improvement and strong skills in future competitions. See you in Poland! Malaysia – Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil, Captain  “First of all, I can’t wait to play in Poland. Regarding the countries in the Malaysian group, we can’t look down on every team. For the Canadian & Pakistani teams, we know a little bit about the style of the game but it is different, especially Pakistan is faster for counter attack hockey compared to Canada. France is more European style and more tactical.” New Zealand – Greg Nicol, Head Coach “The Nations Cup is an important step on our journey to the Olympics in Paris. We get to test ourselves against some quality opposition and experience European conditions. We are looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity to grow our brand of hockey as we build to the pinnacle in Paris.” Poland – Jacek Kurowski, Captain “Excited and ready to execute. The opponents are demanding but we need to focus on us. We can’t wait to finally play in front of our home crowd.” South Africa – Dayaan Cassiem, Captain “We are really excited to join the Nations Cup in Poland. The team will be getting together after a while, and we can’t wait to start playing together again. We will make sure to make the country proud and we hope you will support us, wherever you are following from.” The 2nd edition of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup will be played from 31 May to 9 June 2024 in Gniezno, Poland. All information about the tournament is available here. Source; FIH.hockey