July 21, 2017 Friday 21 July marks one year to go until the Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 gets underway at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. With the public ticket ballot set to open on 19 August and the final teams qualifying over the next few weeks, excitement is really beginning to grow ahead of this blockbuster event. Register for Public Ticket Ballot Following the conclusion of the semi-final stage of the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday, 11 teams have guaranteed qualification thanks to their final standings in both World Cup qualifying events. Hosts England await the arrival of reigning champions Netherlands as well as China, New Zealand, Korea and Australia who finished in the top five spots at the FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Final in Brussels, Belgium. The second Hockey World League Semi-Final, in Johannesburg, South Africa, saw Argentina, Germany, USA, Japan and South Africa book their tickets to London after finishing top of the standings there. Whilst the top five teams are guaranteed qualification for the women’s World Cup, England’s qualification for the semi-final stages in Johannesburg meant that they will finish in the top four. With Japan and South Africa playing in the fifth versus sixth classification match on Saturday 22 July, both teams have guaranteed qualification for London due to the fact that the highest ranked sixth place finisher in Brussels was Italy (16) who are ranked lower than both Japan (11) and South Africa (13)*. The remaining five World Cup qualifiers will be the winners of the Continental Championships taking place between August and November 2017. If one of the continental winners has already qualified through the Hockey World League then teams will qualify based on their final position at the Semi-Finals and their respective FIH Hero World Ranking (as of 1 August 2017) compared to one another. With more than two thirds of teams now qualified, fans can now bid to secure tickets to the event through England Hockey’s Public Ballot and can pre-register before 19 August 2017. Finals, Semi-Finals and England matches will sell out so we urge you not to wait if you want to be there to witness the drama. On 19 August 2017 all fans who have pre-registered for the women’s World Cup in London will receive an email with a link through to the Ballot tickets website. There will also be a link on this site through to the ballot entry pages from 19 August. The public will be able to apply for as many matches as they want. Tickets to matches will be limited to six per England session. Applicants can tick an “upgrade me” box, which will enter them into the ballot for the next price category if unsuccessful in their first request. The Public Ballot will close on 6 September 2017. Payment will only be taken if ticket requests are successful after the Public Ballot closes. Successful applicants will be selected at random. For additional information about the Women’s World Cup and the Public Ballot, check out our Q&A. Find out who will take the remaining spots in the Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 by following the Continental Championships through FIH.ch over the coming weeks as well as through our social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. *Rankings as of 10 April 2017 Source: FIH

July 21, 2017 Johannesburg, South Africa: The men’s final at the Hockey World League Semi-Final will be contested between Germany and Belgium following another dramatic day of action at the University of the Witwatersrand. It was also a hugely significant day for New Zealand and Ireland, who claimed wins to take their places in the 5-6 classification match, the winner of which will be guaranteed a place at the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. Germany (FIH Hero World Ranking: 3) were the first team to reach Sunday’s showpiece final, fighting back from a goal down against Spain (WR: 10) to tie the match before winning a tense sudden-death shoot-out. Die Honamas were made to work extremely hard to replicate the achievement of Germany’s women in reaching their event final, with Ricardo Sanchez putting the Spaniards ahead at the end of the first quarter. Germany’s equaliser did not arrive until five minutes from the end when Ferdinand Weinke smashed home from a tight angle to force the shoot-out. The two sides were locked together at 2-2 after ten shoot-out attempts, with Sergi Enrique and Mats Grambusch making it 3-3 before the telling moment arrived. Spain’s Enrique Gonzalez – a young player who has had an outstanding tournament – failed to convert, with Christopher Rühr making no mistake to put his team into the final. Germany’s opponents in the final will be European rivals Belgium, a team the Germans defeated in the pool phase. However, the Red Lions will be looking to avenge that result following their hard-earned 2-1 victory over Australia’s Kookaburras. Belgium netted either side of half time through Cedric Charlier and Amaury Keusters before Jeremy Hayward slammed home an Australian penalty corner at the end of the third quarter. Australia’s Kiran Arunasalam had a goal ruled out in the final minute as Belgium clung on to set up an all-European event final. “It was a really exciting semi-final, both teams played pretty well and had some good opportunities even through to the last seconds of that game”, said Belgium Head Coach Shane McLeod. “It made for a really good match and now we play the final game, which is what we came here for.” In the 5-8 matches, Egypt (WR: 19) gave New Zealand (WR: 8) a run for their money before eventually being beaten 2-0. The Egyptians proved difficult to break down but eventually the Black Sticks got the breakthrough just after half time thanks to a high quality penalty corner routine expertly converted by Nick Haig. Kane Russell added a second ten minutes from the end with a penalty corner routine almost identical to the first, putting New Zealand into the 5-6 classification where that direct ticket to the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 is on the table. “It was a tough game for us today and we probably started a bit slowly, we would have liked to get some more out of our chances in the first half”, said Kane Russell post-match. “We were able to hang on and put two goals on the board which was good and we need to come out firing for our last game to make sure we finish fifth and qualify for the World Cup.” New Zealand’s opponents in that all important World Cup play-off match will be Ireland (WR: 9), who were taken to a shoot-out by France (WR: 17) before two times FIH Hockey Stars Goalkeeper of the Year David Harte made two important saves to see his side safely through. Hugo Genestet gave France the lead just five minutes into the match, an advantage that they held until late in the third quarter when Shane O’Donoghue netted a penalty stroke. In the shoot-out, goalkeeper Harte denied Guillaume Deront and Hugo Genestet before Chris Cargo scored the winner to keep his teams hopes of direct World Cup qualification alive. Earlier in the day, Austin Smith scored twice to help hosts South Africa (WR: 15) finish their competition on a high, beating Japan (WR: 16) 4-2 to take ninth place on the final standings. On Saturday 22nd July, the 5-8 classification positions in both the women’s and men’s competitions will be finalised. At 11:15 South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2), the women of India and Ireland will meet in the 7-8 classification match, with Japan and South Africa facing off at 13:30 in the women’s 5-6 contest. The attention then switches to the men’s 5-8 classification games, with Egypt playing France for seventh at 15:45, before New Zealand and Ireland take to the field at 18:00 for the battle for fifth place and the subsequent World Cup qualification ticket that comes with it. Hockey World League Semi-Finals – Johannesburg, South Africa Men’s 9-10, 5-8 and Semi-Final Results 9-10: Japan 2, South Africa 4 5-8: Egypt 0, New Zealand 2 5-8: Ireland 1, France 1 (4-3 after shoot-out) SF: Spain 1, Germany 1 (3-4 after shoot-out) SF: Australia 1, Belgium 2 Fixtures and timings All times South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2) Saturday 22nd July 2017 11:15: India v Ireland (Women 7/8) 13:30: Japan v South Africa (Women 5/6) 15:45: Egypt v France (Men 7/8) 18:00: New Zealand v Ireland (Men 5/6) Sunday 23rd July 2017 11:00: England v Argentina (Women 3/4) 13:15: Australia v Spain (Men 3/4) 15:30: USA v Germany (Women Final) 18:00: Belgium v Germany (Men Final) Source: FIH