Amsterdam, August 28: The Netherlands and Argentina will clash in the final of the FIH Women’s this Saturday. Both teams secured their spots after intense semifinal victories.
This match will be a rematch of the 2022 final, where the Netherlands emerged victorious.
The host nation, the Netherlands, defeated co-host Belgium 1-0 in the first semifinal. Meanwhile, Argentina triumphed over Australia with a similar scoreline in the second semifinal held on Thursday night. Belgium was considered the underdog against the three-time defending champions, the Netherlands. However, they started strong, challenging the Dutch team in the first quarter.
Just before halftime, the home team took the lead with a counter-attack. In the 28th minute, Frederik Matla scored with a one-handed deflection following a brilliant build-up. Belgium earned a penalty corner with just nine seconds left in the half but failed to capitalize on the opportunity.
The second half remained thrilling. Belgium thought they had equalized just before the final whistle when 18-year-old Famke van Heel scored a stunning shot. However, a video review disallowed the goal, providing relief to the Netherlands players and fans. With this victory, the Netherlands has reached the World Cup final for the eighth consecutive time.
The of the second semifinal was tightly contested. Both Argentina and Australia struggled to create significant chances, each entering the opponent’s circle five times and earning one penalty corner. Argentina displayed more aggression in the third quarter, attempting to score multiple times but failing to take the lead. Australia also had a golden opportunity, but Argentina’s goalkeeper, Christina Cosentino, made an excellent save.
Finally, “Las Leonas” (Argentina’s team) succeeded with a penalty corner variation when Julieta Jankunas scored in the 47th minute. This goal ignited the Argentine supporters in the crowd, and they celebrated again when Cosentino thwarted two late penalty corner attempts from Australia.
With just 17 seconds left in the match, Australia came close to equalizing. However, the ball failed to connect with captain Grace Stewart’s stick as it headed toward the goal. Consequently, Argentina secured a 1-0 victory, marking their seventh appearance in the World Cup final.
Earlier, Spain claimed seventh place by defeating China in a shootout. Spain took the lead just seconds before the first quarter ended when Marta Segú’s misdirected shot found the net. China equalized just before halftime with a stunning reverse shot from Anhui Yu, making the score 1-1.
China dominated the third quarter, launching continuous attacks but failing to score. Spain’s goalkeeper Clara Pérez made crucial saves to keep her team in the match. With no winning goal scored in regulation time, the match went to a shootout. Despite several missed attempts from both teams, Spain ultimately won 1-0.
England secured ninth place by defeating the USA 3-1, with all four goals coming from penalty corners. Elizabeth Neal opened the scoring for England, but Riley Heck equalized for the USA in the second quarter. Just five minutes later, Lily Owsley scored from a penalty corner strategy, restoring England’s lead. England maintained their dominance in the second half, with Tessa Howard scoring the third goal in the 55th minute to finalize the score at 3-1.
Japan claimed eleventh place by beating Scotland 2-1. Miyu Suzuki scored from a penalty stroke in the 11th minute, giving Japan an early lead. In the final quarter, Akari Nakagomi extended Japan’s lead to 2-0 with a brilliant deflection. Scotland attempted a comeback in the dying minutes, with Ellie McKenzie scoring from a penalty corner to narrow the gap to 2-1. However, Japan successfully defended against another penalty corner just 34 seconds before the match ended, securing their victory.