6 July 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: Another action packed day has revealed the first two teams to qualify straight through to the quarter-finals. As winners of Pool A and D respectively, Netherlands and Australia will now have a break while the knockout round is contested. As second in Pool A, Germany will face South Africa, who finished in third position in Pool D. The lowest ranked team in the tournament, Chile, will take on Belgium, who finished in second place in Pool D. Ireland’s dreams of repeating their 2018 exploits was dashed by a businesslike performance by Germany. Netherlands won their third game to top Pool A but Chile won the hearts of the spectators – and in the case of Francisca Tala, a marriage proposal from her boyfriend –  with their defiant performance against the reigning champions. South Africa kept Australia to a 2-1 scoreline, thus consigning Japan to join Ireland in the 13-16th place play-offs. The Cherry Blossoms had fallen victim to a revitalised Belgium earlier in the day. Ireland v Germany (Pool A) Ireland went into their must-win match against Germany full of energy, high spirits and an indomitable will to keep their World Cup dreams on track. For their part, Germany’s main concern was to ensure at least a second place finish in the pool and to put their earlier defeat at the hands of the Netherlands behind them. From the start, Ireland’s captain Katy Mullan was leading by example, hassling and harrying the German defence, but Germany started with composure, both in attack and defence. Neither side managed to get a breakthrough in the first quarter and, in fact, there were only three attempts at goal in the first 15 minutes – one for Ireland and two for Germany. The breakthrough came for Germany in the 24th minute. Nike Lorenz showed her accuracy and power from the top of the circle as she sent a penalty corner drag flick flying into the net, helped on its way by the tip of Ayeisha McFerran’s boot. Ireland began the second half as brightly as they had started the first half, but once again they failed to make chances count. Gemany extended their lead in the 37th minute when Charotte Stapenhorst was on hand to slot the ball home after Kira Horn had cleverly slipped the ball to her after a strong dribble along the baseline. Head Coach Sean Dancer removed Ayeisha McFerran for the start of the fourth quarter in an attempt to gain an advantage and pull the goals back. Zara Malseed came close to answering Dancer’s call but her shot was beautifully saved by Nathalie Kubalski in the German goal. The Irish defence stood very strong against the German onslaught and managed to keep a handful of penalty corners out of the goal. However, a penalty stroke put the final tick on a German victory. Sonja Zimmermann stepped up to put the ball past McFerran, who had returned to the pitch for the stroke. Germany had one stroke saved at the very end of the match but by then it was all over for the Irish team. Player of the Match, Kira Horn (GER) said: ‘Quite a fight but an important win. Ireland put a lot of pressure on us. We expected that and we were prepared for it. We trie to connect and play as a  team and I think we did that very well. There is much more to come from this German team. We now have time to prepare for the next round.’ Japan v Belgium (Pool D) The first quarter between Japan and Belgium was really well matched and both teams could have snuck an early goal. However, at 15 minutes it was still 0-0 and there was a sense of edginess creeping into the Belgium team in particular. This manifested itself in a number of missed opportunities or poor decisions across the team. The nerves were settled a little in the 24th minute when Stephanie Vanden Borre scored a trademark penalty corner drag flick, which was so quick that Eika Nakamura couldn’t react. That was the only goal before half-time and the narrow lead still didn’t seem to have filled the Red Panthers with confidence. Japan desperately needed a goal, because even if they couldn’t win this game, they could still finish ahead of South Africa if the goal difference was favourable. Belgium’s lead was doubled by Vanden Borre in the 40th minute, almost a mirror of the first. Super skills from Charlotte Engelbert won the corner and Vanden Borre scored her fourth of the tournament and second of the game. Belgium’s lead was extended four minutes later when Ambre Ballenghein made it 3-0, also scoring from a penalty corner. All of Belgium’s penalty corner goals were scored in Japan’s left hand corner of the goal. As heavy rain poured down in Terrassa, there were no further goals although Belgium’s Louise Versavel in particular was pushing hard to add to the scoreline. Player of the Match Michelle Struijk (BEL) said: ‘It has been a tough three days but I am really happy we had the win today and I can’t wait to get to the next stage of the tournament.’ Netherlands v Chile (Pool B) It was the team ranked number one in the world against the team ranked 15th but Chile took to the pitch determined not to let the occasion overwhelm them. Chile’s task was made a shade harder because captain Camila Caram had received a one-match ban and so was watching the match unfold from the stands. And she would have been delighted with her team’s performance in the opening half of the match. The Chile defence, bolstered by a courageous goalkeeping display from Claudia Schuler, kept the Netherlands at bay until the 14th minute. A rebound from a Frederique Matla penalty corner was tapped in by Lidewij Welten to send the home side into the break 1-0 up. After the break the Netherlands continued to pile

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5 July 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: Nerves were fully on display in the fourth day of Women’s World Cup action in Amstelveen and Terrassa. In the opening match, Chile won a war of attrition with Ireland to record their first ever World Cup win. The next match was a clash between two teams who couldn’t be separated as China and India played out a high tempo game that only produced two goals but was a fascinating encounter from start to finish. If the first two matches were tense, the third match, between Japan and South Africa was thrilling as the African team, led by Onathatile Zulu, completed a great escape after going three-nil down in the first half. New Zealand went into a 3-1 lead over England and held onto that lead with a defiant display of defending. And in the final match of the day Australia stunned Belgium with two quick goals that took the Red Panthers by surprise. Ireland v Chile (Pool A) This was a match that both teams had targeted as a game where points might be available and that awareness really added to the pressure and urgency that could be felt across the pitch. The first three quarters were goalless but full of high-energy running and a lot of attacks on both goals. Claudia Schuler was the busier of the two goalkeepers but both Schuler and Ayeisha McFerran pulled off some vitally important saves. Chile’s work was made harder in the first half with a series of cards – yellow and green – which put the side under some additional pressure. Ireland’s Head Coach Sean Dancer will doubtless be frustrated as Ireland won a series of penalty corners but failed to make any of them count. Chile’s number one penalty corner runners played a vital part in keeping the higher ranked team from scoring. The breakthrough came three minutes into the final quarter. Chile won their own penalty corner and Denise Krimerman Losada made no mistake as she fired the ball into the bottom left corner of McFerran’s goal. Ireland put Las Diablas under immense pressure for the final 10 minutes, winning a number of penalty corners but still failing to find a way past the team in red. A yellow card for Eleana Tice limited Dancer’s option to remove his goalkeeper and Chile held on to record a very important first win in a World Cup. Player of the Match was Manuela Urroz. She said: ‘I am so proud of this team, we have worked hard for a number of years. I am so happy I cannot explain it. I think both teams knew that this was an important game for the group. But this is a big step for us, to win our first game at a World Cup.’ Elena Tice of Ireland said: ‘We knew Chile would be a good team. We are bitterly disappointed. We didn’t convert our penalty corners. We struggled with the execution. We have to do better. Now we have to go out and do better against Germany tomorrow.’ China v India (Pool B) The second match of the day in Amstelveen got off to another tense start as India and China went in search of their first win of the tournament. The first quarter was extremely well balanced with both sides testing and probing each others’ defences but there was only one shot in the first 15 minutes – with India hitting the target but finding China’s goalkeeper Liu Ping in the way. India thought they had scored midway through the second half when Tete Salima pushed the ball over the China goal-line following a pass from Ktariya Vandana. However, a smart referral by China saw the goal discounted after it was judged to have hit the striker’s body. It was China who got the breakthrough. Zhang Xindan played a lovely pass which split the India defence and found Zheng Jiali behind the defence. The subsequent shot flew past Savita to give China the lead in this hugely important encounter. The second half began with China on the attack. First Gu Bingfeng sent a penalty corner just over the cross bar and then Zhang Xiaoxue just missed connecting with a cross that would have definitely produced a second goal. That miss would come back to haunt China when Vandana was able to send a penalty corner rebound flying past Ping. The goal came at a time when India could have been forgiven for thinking they were never going to break through the staunch China defence. With just under four minutes left, China went a player down as Zheng Jiali recieved a yellow card. Despite this, China won a penalty corner but Gu’s shot was well saved by Savita and the danger passed. The final minutes saw China pepper the India goalmouth with speculative crosses but no-one could get on the end of anything and both teams settled for their second drawn result of the tournament. Player of the Match Katariya Vandana said: ‘We are disappointed because we should have won the match. We worked hard and hopefully we will win the next match.’ China’s Cui Xiuxia said: ‘Today we played and worked hard. We should have won and hopefully we will win the next one. We need to score more goals but we enjoyed the one that went in. For our next game, we hope to score from our penalty corners.’ Japan v South Africa (Pool D) Japan got off to a super start as they chased their first win of the World Cup in Terrassa. Captain Nagai Yuri led by example as she was able to poke a rebounded ball past South Africa Phumelela Mbande in the third minute. It took another six minutes before the Cherry Blossoms doubled their lead, this time through the quick thinking of Toriyama Mai, who got in front of her marking defender and lifted the ball over the keeper. South Africa were shell-shocked and for a few minutes there was

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3 July 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland:Netherlands stormed their way to the top of Pool A after a 3-1 win over Germany, while India and England had an exciting 1-1 draw in Pool B play. Belgium took down South Africa 4-1 with double goals from each of Stephanie vanden Borre and Charlotte Englebert. Pool C saw an impressive performance from Canada but Korea found responses to come back and take the game 3-2, while Argentina blasted Spain 4-1. Favourites Netherlands and Argentina sit atop their respective pools with two wins, while with only one game played each in Pool B and Pool D it’s still anyone’s game. Belgium v South Africa (Pool D) It was a game of penalty corners as four of five goals in the game came off set pieces as Belgium took their opening game in pool D play 4-1 over South Africa. Despite the score margin the Red Panthers had 15 penalty corners in the game to South Africa’s three. Stephanie vanden Borre put in two penalty corner goals in the second quarter to give Belgium a cushion. Belgium retained most of the possession but couldn’t find a way in free play past South African keeper Phumelela Mbande. South Africa had few attacks but were able to garner a penalty corner in the 24th minute after a fast break. Almost catching Belgium by surprise, the ball was very quickly slapped down the pipe and Jean-Leigh du Toit’s shot beat Aisling D’hooghe between the pads to cut Belgium’s lead in half. It was a small resolve though as Belgium still dominated the second half. Credit to Mbande who continued to stymie waves of attack including several penalty corners and a stunner of a back-hand from Charlotte Englebert. Englebert was on fire in the fourth quarter and she buried a penalty corner variation after injecting the ball to make it 3-1 in the 53rd minute. More penalty corners rained on South Africa including a rebound attempt from vanden Borre that rang the left-hand post. Late in the game a bit of pressure on Lisa-Marie Deetlefs forced a turnover at the stroke mark right to the stick of Englebert but Mbande slid out to create congestion. In the dying minutes, eventual player of the match, Englebert, was there to blast in a rebound for a fourth goal in the 57th minute. The 4-1 win gave Belgium the three points they needed to start their tournament on a high. “We are really happy,” said captain vanden Borre after the match. “It was our first goal of the tournament to get the three points so now on to the next one. We need some more energy for the full 60 minutes to keep on playing forward.” England v India (Pool B) It was an action-packed opening game for England and India who drew 1-1 in Poll B play. India had a penalty corner in the opening minute but the England rushers were up to the task. While India seemed to put a little more attacking pressure, it was England who were first on the board. A quick rush down the right side allowed Lily Owsley to feed Isabelle Petter in traffic. The ball came across the circle in the air and Petter’s reaching touch effortlessly redirected the ball into the mesh for a 1-0 England lead. India didn’t seemed phase as they responded with a penalty corner in the other end. Kaur Gurjit flicked high stick side and the ball pinged off the post but eventually ended in a re-award. Shona McCallin was there to clear the second attempt. India came out in the second quarter again with attacking pressure as Kaur Gurjit’s penalty corner delivery flew just under the stick of injector Kaur Navneet in the opening moments. Sophie Hamilton then forced a save out of Indian keeper Savita only to see the end-to-end play continue with an Indian barck-hand shot flying high and wide of the England goal. Finally, India were able to deservingly find their equalizer. A penalty corner strike from Monika was saved by the stick of a sprawling Maddie Hinch and Katariya Vandana was there to flick in the rebound and level the game before half time. It was a quiet third quarter with England holding most of the attack and possession, but Savita was not required in action. Just before the third-quarter hooter though, India had a ball bouncing in the circle and some quality footwork allowed Neha to one-time blast the ball on her back-hand but Maddie Hinch made the save. England continued to dominate but were unable to generate a quality chance on goal. India had fewer chances but looked just as dangerous. A bouncing ball beat Hinch and was on target for a wide open Sonika but the ball hit her in the 57th minute. England thought they had a penalty corner in the final minute but a video referral overturned it. The game remained equal 1-1, a deserving score line as both keepers were superb. Isabelle Petter was named player of the match and said commented after the game: ‘It was always a tough first game against India. They’re a class side. We were happy with the draw would have wanted the win but happy to take the point and on to the next game now. We’ve got a rest day tomorrow and then we will focus on our next game against China.’ Korea v Canada (Pool C) All of the action were in the first and last minutes of the game as Canada and Korea traded goals with two goals in each of the opening two minutes and final three minutes. Despite playing in their own end for a lot of the match, it was Korea that came out with the 3-2 victory to serve heartbreak to the Canadians. Korea wasted no time earning a penalty corner in the first 30 seconds of the game as pressure forced Natalie Sourisseau to clear the ball high into her teammate. Kim Minji flick

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1 July 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: www.NFTclub.hockey, the NFT marketplace which came to birth thanks to the recent partnership between the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and SIMBA Chain, Inc., a blockchain company delivering real-world Web3 solutions, has delivered its very first offer of hockey digital collectibles today! Taking advantage of the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022, which is starting today, July 1, this first-ever series of FIH NFTs gets inspiration from the “collectible cards” concept that are traditionally associated with sports. 16 NTFs, one per participating team, will give the opportunity for fans all around the world to build their own collection from an event that is unique and highly-prestigious. In particular, those NFTs display “must have” FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup all-time statistics for every participating team! And even more: some of the fans collecting each of the 16 NFTs – one from each country’s collection – will have the chance to receive exciting rewards like signed memorabilia from the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022, VIP hospitality tickets for upcoming FIH events and access to exclusive discounts! Therefore, don’t wait any longer and acquire your first FIH NFTs! The FIH NFTs are accessible to everybody, without needing any crypto understanding or experience. Fans can access the collectibles on NFTclub.hockey, purchase their favourites by creating a user account and access them once logged in. FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “Today’s launch of our very first NFTs marks yet another step in our ever increasing digital engagement with fans. Collectibles have always been very popular amongst sports fans and we’re hopeful that those digital ones, developed thanks to the expertise of our new partner SIMBA Market, will offer a new way for fans to enjoy and remember their best hockey memories.” “We built SIMBA Market to enable brands like FIH to introduce their communities to NFTs without the need for any crypto understanding. This is in line with our mission to bring blockchain to the world” said Bryan Ritchie, CEO of SIMBA Chain. #HockeyEquals #HockeyInvites For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please consult FIH.hockey, follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and download the Watch.Hockey app.

The opening match will oppose the hosts, Spain, to Canada, in the Terrassa Olympic Stadium, which was the venue of the 1992 Olympic hockey tournaments. On 2 July, the other venue of the 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, will see the World Cup action in motion with New Zealand playing China. 16 from the best teams in the world have been drawn into four Pools as follows: Pool A: Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Chile Pool B: England, New Zealand, India, China Pool C: Argentina, Spain, Korea, Canada Pool D: Australia, Belgium, Japan, South Africa On the following links, you can watch previews from every Pool: Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Also, you can hear the thoughts of the Head Coaches and Captains from the participating nations by opening the following links: Pools A and B Pools C and D Follow all the action across the FIH website and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), Watch.Hockey and broadcasters.