Hockey World Cup 2018: Germany defeat spirited Malaysia to enter quarter-finals; Pakistan qualify for cross-overs despite drubbing

Bhubaneswar: Germany beat Malaysia 5-3 to maintain their all-win record and seal a direct quarterfinal spot, while Pakistan suffered a 1-5 defeat against the Netherlands but still sneaked into the knock-out stages at the men’s hockey World Cup on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_5700731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Germany joined two-time champions Australia, Olympic champions Argentina and hosts India in the quarter-finals. Twitter@FIH_Hockey[/caption] While the Germans were through to the quarter-finals, the Netherlands and Pakistan managed to qualify for the cross-overs round. As per the format of the tournament, the top team from each of the four pools will directly qualify for the quarter-finals while the second andthird-placedd sides will play cross-over matches against teams of other pools for the remaining four last eight berths. Even though Malaysia (1 point) finished on same points as Pakistan, the Asian Games silver medallist crashed out of the tournament because of their inferior goal difference. The Germans joined two-time champions Australia, Olympic champions Argentina and hosts India in the quarter-finals. The other four places of the last eight round will be decided from the cross-over matches. Germany finished their pool engagements with a maximum of nine points from three games. Tim Herzbruch (2nd, 59th minutes) and Christopher Ruhr (14th, 18th) scored two goals each while Marco Miltkau (39th) struck the other one for the world number 6 Germans. Malaysia’s all three goals came from penalty corner conversions by Razie Rahim (26th, 42nd) and Nabil Noor (28th). Both the teams had their chances in the game but it was Germany who were more precise with their finishing skills. The Germans started brightly and raced to a 3-0 lead inside 18 minutes through goals from Herzbruch and Ruhr. But the Malaysians tried to make a valiant fightback and managed to reduce the margin to 2-3 in the 28th minute through goals from Rahim and Noor. The clinical Germans capitalised on Malaysia’s defensive errors when Miltkau deflected in a Niklas Wellen’s perfect lay-off in the 39th minute. The Malaysians did not give up and narrowed down the gap to 3-4 when Rahim converted another penalty corner. The Germans had the last laugh when Miltkau scored from a counter-attack just a minute from the final hooter to dash any hopes of Malaysia’s comeback. Both the teams had numerous scoring opportunities in the form of penalty corners. While Malaysia earned as many as eight penalty corners, the Germans secured seven in the match. In the match between the Netherlands and Pakistan, the Dutch were by far the better side as they made repeated forays into their rival citadel. The Netherlands scored through Thierry Brinkman (7th minute), Valentin Verga (27th), Bob de Voogd (37th), Jorrit Croon (47th) and Mink van der Weerden (59th) en route to their comfortable win. Pakistan’s lone goal came from the stick of Umar Bhutta in the ninth minute. Pakistan played catch-up hockey and looked a disjointed unit, having no idea what to do with the ball when it’s in their possession. They mostly relied on counter-attacks to surprise their higher ranked opponents but the vast gap of quality between the two sides was quiet evident on the turf. World number 4 Netherlands started on a bright note and secured their first penalty corner in the fourth minute but it was wasted. Three minutes later, Brinkman gave the Netherlands the lead with a field strike. But Pakistan bounced back strongly and earned three back-to-back penalty corners, from the last of which Bhutta scored off a rebound after Ali Mubashar’s flick was saved by Dutch goalie Pirmin Blaak. In the second quarter, both the Netherlands and Pakistan traded a penalty corner each but failed to extract anything from the opportunities. Three minutes from half-time, the Dutch restored their lead through Verga who scored a fine field goal after a brilliant one-two touch play with Seve van Ass. The Netherlands started from where they left after the change of ends and extended their lead in the 37th minute with a diving effort at the far post from de Voogd, who tapped in a pass from Jeroen Hertzberger. The Dutch continued their onslaught and secured a couple of penalty corners in quick time and from one such chance Jorrit Croon scored to make the scoreline 4-1 in the European side’s favour. Van der Weerden then converted a penalty corner a minute from the final hooter to round off the scoreline and end Pakistan’s agony. For the full Hockey World Cup 2018 schedule, click here For all the results from the Hockey World Cup 2018, click here For the Hockey World Cup 2018 standings, click here To read stories from our Hockey World Cup memories series, click here To read legends' take on Indian hockey team's performances at the World Cup, click here To read stories from The Hockey Insider series, click here