AHF: Semifinal stage set after day of high drama and history in Croatia

History was made by South Africa, Belgium and Poland at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Poreč, Croatia on Friday as their respective sides progressed to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time.

South Africa’s men will venture into unchartered territory after a resounding 6-0 win over two-time bronze medallists Iran in their quarterfinal clash. They took the game away from the Iranians in a four-minute purple patch in the third quarter, scoring two goals at one end while Anton van Loggerenberg made three good saves in goal at the other. Mustapha Cassiem added another hat-trick to take his tournament tally to 14 goals. Jethro Eustace was named player of the match and said afterwards: “Our speed and skill have got us this far. I think today we spoke about how our defensive effort is going to be needed.”

Belgium’s men also advanced to an historic first semifinal with a 7-6 win over Namibia. The Red Lions carried a comfortable 7-1 lead into the final quarter, but Namibia made a fist of it with five quick unanswered goals. The Belgians endured a desperate final minute as Namibia pulled their keeper off and created one clear opportunity to level the match, but it was all too little too late. “It was really a crazy game,” admitted player of the match Dorian Thiéry afterwards. “We played very well for three quarters, then they came back, it was really terrifying, but at the end the structure was really good and I think that was the difference for today.”

Meanwhile, title contenders Germany scraped through to the men’s semifinals in dramatic fashion after a sudden death shootout win against Poland. The Germans looked to be in control of the match with a 2-0 lead and just four minutes to play. Poland removed their goalkeeper to chase the game and Germany responded by doing the same, but it backfired as they conceded two late goals. Germany then missed their first shot in the shootout but recovered to prevail in a second round of sudden death.

Two-time defending champions Austria also survived a sudden death shootout after their match against Australia ended 2-2. Leading by two with three minutes to play, the Austrians conceded two quick goals, the second from their own mis-trapped penalty corner against a keeperless goal at the other end of the court, but they ultimately held on for the shootout victory. Captain Fabian Unterkircher was Austria’s player of the match and said afterwards: “We knew that Australia is giving a hard fight on the pitch. I think they did a really good job in the end… Obviously a really nerve-wracking end and we’re very happy to be through.”

Poland were the team to make history in the women’s tournament as they came from behind in a 2-1 win over Belgium and advanced to the semifinals for the first time. The Polish trailed for most of the first half, and had to work patiently for a winner that came with only three minutes left on the clock. A jubilant Marlena Rybacha was Poland’s player of the match and said: “We knew that the game from the start would be really, really difficult. It’s all about the details, they are going to sit low and wait for our mistakes to make a counterattack, and that was exactly the game. They were waiting, waiting, waiting but I’m super happy that we managed to score two goals and we’re going to the semifinals.”

Meanwhile, Austria will be looking to go one better than their silver medal in 2023 after they secured their spot in the semifinal with a comfortable 5-1 victory over potentially tricky Namibia. Player of the match Katharina Bauer said afterwards: “I think we need to keep up the energy. I think we started really good but then we kind of lost it in the middle. But I think we need to keep our mentality high and keep our heads in the game, and I’m sure in the semifinal we’ll do it better.”

Czechia, bronze medallists and current world number 2, claimed their semifinal spot with a 4-2 win over the United States and Germany met some good defensive resistance from debutantes Thailand, but ultimately they were too strong and cruised to a 7-1 victory to secure their slot in the final four. Ines Wanner’s hat-trick kept her on the top of the goal-scoring table with 13 so far in the tournament.

Saturday will see Germany meeting South Africa in the men’s semifinals while Austria take on Belgium, and in the women’s event it will be Germany vs Austria and Poland going up against Czechia.

7 February 2025 Results

Men

Result: Match 19 (M)

Argentina 6 – 2 Malaysia

Player of the match: Juan Eleicegui (ARG)

Umpires: Emily Carroll (AUS), Ben Goentgen (GER)

Result: Match 20 (M)

Croatia 12 – 3 Trinidad & Tobago

Player of the match: Mario Mucić (CRO)

Umpires: Ayden Shrives (RSA), Sean Edwards (ENG)

Result: Match 21 (M)

Germany 2 – 2 Poland (SO: 2 – 1)

Player of the match: Joshua Onyekwue Nnaji (GER)

Umpires: Sean Edwards (ENG), Michael Pontus (BEL)

Result: Match 22 (M)

South Africa 6 – 0 Iran

Player of the match: Jethro Eustice (RSA)

Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER), Pieter Hembrecht (NED)

Result: Match 23 (M)

Belgium 7 – 6 Namibia

Player of the match: Dorian Thiéry (BEL)

Umpires: Zeke Newman (AUS), Ayden Shrives (RSA)

Result: Match 24 (M)

Austria 2 – 2 Australia (SO: 3 – 2)

Player of the match: Fabian Unterkircher (AUT)

Umpires: Ben Goentgen (GER), Salman (INA)

Women

Result: Match 19 (W)

Australia 3 – 1 New Zealand

Player of the match: Caitlin Burns (AUS)

Umpires: Ivona Makar (CRO), Rachel Williams (ENG)

Result: Match 20 (W)

South Africa 6 – 0 Croatia

Player of the match: Daniella De Oliveira (RSA)

Umpires: Melina Illanes (ARG), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)

Result: Match 21 (W)

Namibia 1 – 5 Austria

Player of the match: Katharina Bauer (AUT)

Umpires: Emily Carroll (AUS), Kristy Robertson (AUS)

Result: Match 22 (W)

Czechia 4 – 2 United States

Player of the match: Barbora Ćecháková (CZE)

Umpires: Ana Ortega (ESP), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)

Result: Match 23 (W)

Poland 2 – 1 Belgium

Player of the match: Marlena Rybacha (POL)

Umpires: Melina Illanes (ARG), Ivona Makar (CRO)

Result: Match 24 (W)

Germany 7 – 1 Thailand

Player of the match: Ines Wanner (GER)

Umpires: Rachel Williams (ENG), Abby Macarthur (WAL)

All images: ©FIH/WorldSportPics