The FIH Hockey Pro League’s final week of the season kicked off in Berlin with two thrilling comeback victories on Tuesday.
Germany’s women went down to the determined Chinese, while the German men delighted the home fans by storming back from two goals down to defeat Australia.
(Women’s) Germany 2 – 3 China
China came from behind twice to snatch a late 3-2 victory off hosts Germany, guaranteeing their highest ever placing in the tournament.
The Germans started putting real pressure on China from the middle of the first quarter., and their opening goal in the 10th minute was brilliant. Lisa Nolte fired a flat reverse stick pass across the circle for Johanna Hachenberg to deflect in at the near post. China’s goalkeeper Surong Wu made an exceptional low stick save near the end of the period to keep it close, and they fought their way back through the second quarter. Their 25th-minute goal came from Dan Wen when her attempt at dinking a short ball to the right post deflected in from a defender’s foot. Lilly Stoffelsma then edged the home side in front again on the stroke of half time, slapping low and hard into the bottom corner for a 2-1 lead.
China created some good chances in the third quarter before Wen equalised in the 39th minute. She did well to create a shot from the top of the circle under pressure, but it took another lucky deflection off a defender as the ball looked to be going well wide. The quarter ended with a series of attacks at both ends, and the points were very much up for grabs, with the scores locked 2-2.
The final quarter got under way with breathtaking end-to-end action. An excellent save by Germany’s goalkeeper, Nathalie Kubalski, denied the Chinese as they started to dominate the latter stages of the match. The winning goal came from Jinzhuang Tan in the 57th minute, then her drag flick fired China ahead for the first time. Germany responded by pulling their goalkeeper off immediately, but they couldn’t find the goal they needed, and they remain locked in a relegation battle with India and England.
China’s Huang Haiyan was named player of the match and said: “We kept it simple in the second half. We made a few errors, and then we make up our errors for each other and we support each other, and this is very important, we fight to the end.”
(Men’s) Germany 3 – 2 Australia
Germany came from two goals down to post an essential 3-2 win over Australia, as Martin Zwicker’s 335th appearance saw him draw level with Matthias Witthaus as the most capped German man.
Australia came out firing in the first quarter, and Blake Govers blasted them ahead with a third-minute field goal. Govers then struck the post before Joel Rintala scorched a drag flick home in the eighth minute. A green card for the Kookaburras broke their momentum, however, and Germany nearly pulled one back from a penalty corner, but Ky Willott saved it brilliantly on the line. Germany were very much in the ascendancy going into the second quarter and Gonzalo Peillat opened their account with a perfectly placed drag flick in the 19th minute.
Australia held on to their slender 2-1 lead at half time, but the momentum was with the Germans heading into the third quarter. Henrik Mertgens levelled the scores with a well-struck field goal in the 35th minute, and Benedikt Schwarzhaupt put the home side ahead with a 38th-minute drag flick. The final quarter was played at a furious intensity, and Ashleigh Thomas made three exceptional saves to keep the Kookaburras in touch before he was swapped out with three minutes remaining. There were no more goals and Germany’s win boosts their hopes of clinching a FIH Hockey World Cup qualifying spot in a tight race with England and Spain.
The player of the match went to Germany’s Thies Prinz, who said: “Probably like yesterday, we needed maybe one or two goals against us to get into the game. We know we can change every game in a minute, so I’m very proud of the team, fantastic work, fantastic effort, and we are very happy to get the win.”
Current Hero Top Scorers:
Women – Yibbi Jansen (NED) (17 goals)
Men – Tom Boon (BEL) (19 goals)
To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.
FIH Hockey Pro League – 24 June 2025
Ernst Reuter Sportfeld, Berlin, Germany (GER)
Women
Result: Match 65 (W)
Germany 2 – 3 China
Player of the match: Huang Haiyan (CHN)
Umpires: Ayanna McClean (TTO), Emi Yamada (JPN), Hannah Harrison (ENG-video)
Men
Result: Match 67 (M)
Germany 3 – 2 Australia
Player of the match: Thies Prinz (GER)
Umpires: Hannah Harrison (ENG), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN), Ayanna McClean (TTO – video)
