03 December, 2022 High quality hockey in both semi-finals were settled with moments of brilliance as Ireland and South Africa booked their spots in the first ever finals of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup South Africa 2022, with the winning team earning a promotion into the FIH Hockey Pro League for the 2023-24 season. Both semi-finals were extremely tactical with the teams going into the half at 0-0. The deadlock was broken for Ireland by Benjamin Walker and Jeremy Duncan then utilized the space behind the Malaysian defense to score twice to continue Ireland’s perfect tournament, making it 4 wins in 4 games. In the second semi-finals, it was Tevin Kok, who has been South Africa’s best attacking outlet so far, who scored first for the hosts, but Korea leveled from their third penalty corner, with Jonghyun Jang scoring his 6th goal of the tournament. Neither team could find a winner and the teams headed for the first shoot-out of the event. South Africa made a keeper change for the shoot-out and Anton van Loggerenberg justified the change saving three attempts, including a game winning save against Jonghyun Jang’s penalty stroke from Korea’s 5th attempt, securing the win for South Africa. Earlier in the day France put in an offensive masterclass to trounce Canada 7-1, with Blaise Rogeau scoring the first hat-trick of the event and captain Victor Charlet scoring twice, while Japan got the better of Pakistan in a closely fought encounter. Pakistan and Canada will now play in the 7th place playoff tomorrow, while France and Japan will play for 5th. The full schedule of the games tomorrow at the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup, including the finals, can be seen here. Match 1 – France vs Canada 7-1 France came into the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup as strong favorites but so far had flattered to deceive, with losses against Ireland and South Africa followed by a draw against Pakistan. Their defense had done reasonably well through most of the three matches, barring an errant 2nd half display against Pakistan, but their attack, which boasts of some real stars, never got going in the pool stage. Things turned around big time today, as France met Canada in the 5-8 classification match. It took France 15 minutes to open the scoring through captain Victor Charlet, but that goal opened the floodgates and France scored 6 more goals over the course of the match. Blaise Rogeau was the pick of the players scoring the first hat-trick of the Nations Cup. Canada scored a cracking goal of their own through a Matthew Sarmento tomahawk shot from the edge of the circle, but it was little more than a consolation as the game ended 7-1 in favor of France. Hat-trick hero Blaise Rogeau was awarded the player of the match and said: “We were disappointed that we didn’t qualify for the semi-finals, so it was important to show improvements on the field and we did that today, now we will watch the Japan vs Pakistan game to know who we play tomorrow and we will try to finish the tournament on a high.” Match 2 – Japan vs Pakistan 3-1  Pakistan’s best performance in the Nations Cup ends up in a loss, as their failure to convert chances, and Japan’s  helps Japan earn a victory and the opportunity to face France in the 5th place playoff. Pakistan will play Canada in the 7th place playoff match, in the first match tomorrow. Pakistan looked threatening through the first three quarters of the game, often getting into the Japanese circle with chances to score, but for all their attacking intent and opportunities, the final touch was missing. Their defense lived dangerously too, conceding far too many penalty corners, and Japan finally broke the deadlock right before half-time, through their 6th opportunity from the set piece. As Pakistan’s looked to mount a comeback, they overcommitted on attack, and Japan exposed the space behind the Pakistani defense with two goals on the counter-attack. Pakistan scored one goal of their own in the 4th quarter through the impressive Rooman, but it wasn’t enough, as Pakistan will now face Canada in the 7th place play-off, while Japan will face France in the battle for 5th place. Japanese goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa was awarded player of the match for his stellar efforts in keeping Pakistan from scoring through the first three quarters, and said: “We recently lost to Pakistan in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, in the 3rd place playoff, so it’s good to get one back against them today. We will look to carry the momentum from this game and finish the tournament on a high tomorrow against France.” Match 3 – Ireland vs Malaysia 3-0 Two moments of pure magic from Ireland in the third quarter broke a stalemate leading them to a win and a spot in the finals of the inaugural FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup 2022, in a tough, tactical battle against Malaysia. In a tense and fairly even game, the momentum swung from one team to another, but neither team could find a breakthrough until the 41st minute, when a brilliant piece of control by Benjamin Walker in the Malaysian circle allowed him to swivel and smash a shot past the Malaysian keeper to give Ireland the lead. Two minutes later, yet another Irish attack from the left saw the ball pass around beautifully, allowing Jeremy Duncan to pass the ball into an empty goal. And while Malaysia searched for a way back into the game in the final quarter, it was Ireland through Duncan again, who created a wonderful 3-on-1 opportunity and scored the goal that sealed Malaysia’s fate. Captain Sean Murray was awarded the player of the match for yet another outstanding controlled performance in the midfield, shielding the watertight Irish defense, and said: “Really good job by our forwards scoring three beautiful goals. It was a tough match but we edged the big moments and we are thrilled

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01 December, 2022 21 total goals were scored on match day 3 of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup as a fascinating blend of attacking and defensive hockey thrilled fans who packed the stands on a breezy day in Potchefstroom. With three semi-final spots already claimed by Korea, Ireland and South Africa on match day 2, the Pool B match between Malaysia and Japan had the highest stakes, with the winner qualifying for the semi-finals. It was Malaysia who grabbed the second spot, behind Korea, in Pool B with a rousing 5-1 victory over Japan, scoring 3 goals in a span of 6 minutes in a fantastic third quarter display. Earlier in the day, Korea handled their business in the first game of the morning, making it 3 wins in 3 with a 6-2 win over Canada to seal the top spot in Pool B. Pakistan and France then played a highly entertaining 3-3 draw, with Pakistan leveling the score in the final minute of the game. South Africa, who were cheered on by the home crowd, played Ireland in the final game of the pool stage, but a close 1-0 loss meant they had to settle for second place in Pool A. Korea will now take on South Africa in the semi-finals, while Ireland will face Malaysia. In the 5-8 positional play-offs Pakistan will take on Japan and France will face Canada. All teams will be back in action on 3 December after a rest day tomorrow. To see the full schedule click here. Match 1 – Korea vs Canada 6-2 Korea came into the final pool stage match knowing a draw would be enough to seal a top spot in Pool B, but with just one goal so far from open play, they came out on the offensive. The Canadian defense held strong and repelled wave after wave of Korean attacks, looking to counter with long passes out of defense. They capitalized on the first big opportunity of the game through a great drag flick by captain Gordon Johnston, to stun Korea. But Korea took the setback in their stride and kept attacking. Joghyun Jang continued his scoring form from penalty corners, bringing Korea back level after Canada’s first major lapse in defense led to a penalty corner in the 27th minute. It was all Korea in the second half as they scored 5 unanswered goals through two penalty corners via Joghyun Jang and Hyeonhong Kim, a penalty stroke won and converted by Byungjin Jeon and two cracking open play goals by Jungjun Lee and Inwoo Seo to put the game beyond Canada’s reach. Canada added a late goal from another Gordon Johnston penalty corner, but it was little more than a consolation. Joghyun Jang, the leading scorer in the tournament with 5 goals, was asked about his team’s performance thus far and said: “It’s good to get out of the pool stage with no hiccups, against some tough opponents. We will look to carry forward that momentum into the semi-final.” Match 2 – France vs Pakistan 3-3 France and Pakistan came into the match with nothing to gain, having missed out on semi-final qualification already, but both teams also had nothing to lose. So the viewers were treated to an end-to-end match of hockey with neither team looking to play cautiously. Pakistan opened the scoring through a terrific open play goal in the 9th minute by Abdul Rana, but France struck back inside three minutes with a fantastic open play goal of their own, scored by Pieter van Straaten. Pakistan struck again before the interval, as a shot by Afraz looked to have been well saved by French keeper Arthur Thieffry, but the shot had enough power to still trickle into the goal as Thieffry failed to pull it back. Pakistan started the second half on the front foot, but missed a couple of great scoring opportunities and France made them pay by equalizing through a smart deflected goal by Noé Jouin. Both teams continued to play at a breakneck speed and while plenty of chances were created by both teams, most lacked the finishing touches. With less than 3 minutes left on the clock, France were presented with a golden opportunity through a penalty corner, and François Goyet stepped up and put France in the lead. Pakistan refused to throw in the towel and scored from a penalty corner of their own through Arbaz Ahmad, with just 40 seconds left on the clock. Abdul Rana who opened the scoring for Pakistan was chosen as the player of the match. Asked about what the result means for his young team, Rana said: “I think this is a great result for us. France were the red hot favorites before the tournament so a competitive performance against them is good for us. It’s great exposure for our young players to compete against European teams and I think our future is very bright.” Match 3 – Malaysia vs Japan 5-1  The Malaysia vs Japan match was effectively a quarterfinal, as the winner would be guaranteed to advance into the semi-finals, and both teams absolutely came flying off the blocks. Malaysia took the lead in the 2nd minute through Najib Hassan, but Japan were back level within two minutes of going down, with Kosei Kawabe getting on the scoresheet for the first time in the tournament. The pace of the game slowed down after the early goals, but picked up pace once again as Malaysia retook the lead from a Aminuddin Muhammad penalty corner. Both teams created chances, with each team winning 2 penalty corners each in the final 5 minutes of the half, but the defensive units of both teams held their ground and Malaysia took a one goal lead into the interval. The onus to get back into the game was on Japan in the second half and as they committed more players to attack, Malaysia exposed the space behind their defense and scored three goals in the

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29 November, 2022 Day 2 of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup South Africa 2022 saw a plethora of attacking displays as all teams managed to get themselves on the scoresheet. But it was joy for some and despair for others as the semifinals picture started to take shape as the day progressed. Korea, Ireland and South Africa made it two wins in two matches, and qualified for the semi-finals, with one pool match still to go. Meanwhile Pakistan, Canada and France can no longer qualify after taking no points from the first two games. Malaysian hopes of qualification stay alive after their come-from-behind victory over Canada set up a final pool match showdown against Japan, where a win for Malaysia will see them join Korea as semi-finalists from Pool B, while a draw will be enough for Japan, given their superior goal difference. All teams will be back in action on 1 December after a rest day tomorrow. Match 1 – Korea vs Japan 3-1 Japan came racing off the blocks in the battle between two Asian rivals, but a combination of poor finishing and excellent keeping from Jehyeon Kim kept Korea in the game; who then made Japan pay for the missed opportunities by scoring on either side of the first quarter break through Jonghyun Jang and Sunghyun Kim. Japan pulled one back before the half as a speculative shot by Takuma Niwa snuck through the legs of Jehyeon Kim. The pace of the game slowed down significantly in the 3rd quarter, with both teams prodding, without committing too many to attack. Japan conceded a penalty corner with one second left in the third quarter, and Korea snatched the opportunity with a perfect top corner flick by Jonghyun Jang again. Jang was awarded the player of the match for his two brilliant goals, that proved to be the difference between the two sides, and said: “Yesterday’s win was important, but today’s was even more so, because Japan are a tough side and they were coming off a win themselves. I am happy to have converted two penalty corners and I look forward to the next game.” Match 2 – Ireland vs Pakistan 3-1 Ireland came into the game as heavy favorites after their impressive win against France yesterday, while Pakistan had suffered a heavy defeat against South Africa, but the first quarter proved how close all teams at the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup 2022 are, with neither team giving an edge. Pakistan opened the scoring through a smart finish by Abdul Shahid at the start of the 2nd quarter, but Ireland struck back almost instantly via Conor Empey. Both teams looked for attacking opportunities in the second half, but Pakistan could not make theirs count, while Ireland added two goals; the first, a beautiful team move with intricate passing that was knocked into an empty goal by Benjamin Walker, and a second via a Shane O’Donoghue penalty corner. The two second half goals were enough for Ireland to see the game out and make it 6 points from 2 matches so far. Benjamin Walker, who has been on the scoresheet for Ireland in both their games, was awarded the player of the match. Speaking of the win today and the upcoming challenges he said: “The win yesterday was great but it took a lot out of us, so it was good to be able to comeback from the early deficit and get three goals and the win. South Africa next after a rest tomorrow and that will be a tough game too. We saw them play against Pakistan and they look very good.” Match 3 – Canada vs Malaysia 2-3 Through most of the game Malaysia looked like they were going to be on the losing end of yet another frustrating encounter, where they had plenty of chances, but couldn’t find a way to get the final shot. But a 4th quarter surge reversed their fortunes and earned them 3 crucial points, which makes their next encounter against Japan, where a victory will see them qualify for the semi-finals. Canada took the lead in the game twice, but the Malaysian attack kept pressing on, despite failing to find a final touch on multiple occasions. With just 15 minutes to go in the game and Malaysia trailing by a goal, Canada’s Matthew Sarmento picked up a 10-minute suspension that handed Malaysia the impetus, and they capitalized on the player advantage through an Abu Azrai goal, leveling the score. Azrai then found himself in the right spot once again in the 57th minute of the game, as his shot deflected off a Canadian stick and looped over the keeper and into the goal to earn Malaysia a huge win. Abu Azrai was awarded the player of the match for his two crucial goals, and said: “It feels good to overcome the adversity of going a goal down twice and to comeback and win the game in the final quarter. Canada were really impressive today, but we needed the three points and we got them, so it’s job done for us today.” Match 4 – South Africa vs France 2-1 South Africa and France produced attacking masterclasses when they faced off in the FIH Hockey Pro League earlier in the year and it was no different today as the two teams went head-to-head in the Nations Cup. Corentin Sellier opened the scoring for France in the 12th minute with a brilliant move inside the circle to make room for himself and bury a shot into the roof of the net. South Africa answered back within a minute as a pinpoint long range pass by Ryan Julius found Tevin Kok, whose brilliant first touch allowed him to put the ball past the onrushing French keeper to level things up. Dayaan Cassiem has been the heart and soul of the South African team and showed once again why he is so highly regarded as his brilliant 3d skills cracked the French

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29 November 2022 | Source: SAHockey.co.za South Africa and France, the two teams to have tasted FIH Hockey Pro League action previously, locked horns in a battle that could see either side re-enter the top tier of the international game. South Africa had opened their tournament with a 6-2 win against Pakistan while France had somewhat surprisingly lost to Ireland. The match marked cap number 50 for Tevin Kok. The South Africans were enjoying a vociferous home crowd support and sensed the opportunity to get a first win against France in the recent head-to-head. South Africa had two penalty corners in the early exchange, but both were well charged down by the French defense. The South Africans were punished for not taking their chances as a bullet goal from Corentin Sellier gave the visitors the lead. But as seen many times over the past couple of years this South African team is made of sterner stuff. Ryan Julius hit a wonderful diagonal ball through to Tevin Kok who picked it up and finished superbly. 1-1 at the end of the first quarter! Both teams had chances with the speed of the South African attack asking questions of the French defense. France won their first penalty corner with six minutes remaining to half-time. Jethro Eustice kept the ball out on the post although they had to refer to overturn a stroke that was incorrectly awarded. Tempers were starting to rise, and the umpires were themselves being tested as well. Dayaan Cassiem continued to provide danger up front, but his shot was tame. South Africa received a penalty corner on the half-time break after Tevin Kok pulled down a good aerial ball. Jacques van Tonder picked up the rebound but was unable to find the back, however the penalty corner was re-awarded and form the re-award the ball found the back of the net. However, after a referral the goal was correctly disallowed as the ball was off target. 1-1 at the break. The first short corner of the second half went to France after the ball struck the foot off Sam Mvimbi. But uncharacteristically the French were unable to show their typical danger at a set piece. South Africa showed their own character with a great counter, but Keenan Horne was unable to put the finishing touches on the team move. France almost regained the lead with a massive opportunity on the overhead. Tynevez one on one with Estiaan Kriek kept the French out before a ripping pass up the other side saw Tevin Kok hit the outside of the post as South Africa challenged the French defense once more. 15 minutes remained. South Africa took the lead superbly against the French with a tenacious goal. Luke Wynford responded to a superb save and Keenan Horne was on hand to bundle it home and give the hosts the lead for the first time in the game. France almost pulled level but the ball narrowly missed the South African goal. France were desperate to pull level but the South Africans were keeping them at bay and France decided to withdraw their keeper for the final two minutes. South Africa though held the French at bay and as a result secured the victory and a place in the Semi-Final!!!!   FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2022 – Day 2 Results Pool B – Korea 3-1 Japan Pool B – Canada 2-3 Malaysia Pool A – Pakistan 1-3 Ireland Pool A – South Africa 2-1 France FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2022 – Day 3 Fixtures (1 December) 09:00 – Korea vs. Canada 11:00 – France vs. Pakistan 13:00 – Japan vs. Malaysia 15:00 – South Africa vs. Ireland