The Netherlands women lifted the FIH Hockey Pro League trophy for a fifth time after sealing a superb campaign with a shootout win over Belgium in Antwerp on Sunday.
The final day of the season also brought with it a thrilling clash between Germany and Spain’s men to decide who would secure qualification for next year’s FIH Hockey World Cup. It was the Spanish side who clinched the win when it mattered most, pulling off a 2-0 victory to book their spot at the global tournament.
An elated Spanish captain Alvaro Iglesias said: “We are extremely happy. We knew we had a very difficult task here in Germany… and we did it, so we are very happy and we played very well.
“Every time you win, you’re always very grateful, but if you win it with a bigger prize like getting the ticket for the World Cup, it’s amazing.”
Meanwhile, Belgium’s men finished in second spot after claiming a shootout win over England, whose women’s side were beaten by Germany. And India suffered another defeat at the hands of China to confirm their relegation from the women’s competition.
(Women’s) Germany 4 – 2 England
Hosts Germany produced an excellent second-half performance to beat England 4-2 in Berlin, effectively ending the relegation battle, as India would remain at the bottom of the table regardless of their later result.
The Germans took the lead in the second minute, Stine Kurz slotting in a penalty stroke after Flora Peel was struck defending bravely on the line. But England hit back with two quick goals. Maddie Axford blasted an excellent reverse shot in the ninth minute, and Holly Hunt volleyed one in from shoulder height as it drifted across goal off a defender. The second quarter was a scrappy one with three cards handed out, as England held onto their 2-1 head at the long break.
The Germans bossed the second half, though, and Sara Strauss eventually levelled the scores in the 39th minute, ghosting in front of her marker for a deflection from open play. Lisa Nolte then edged the Germans ahead in the 47th minute, when her direct hit from a penalty corner threaded perfectly between the goalkeeper and the defender on the post. England couldn’t gain any traction and pulled their goalkeeper off with a little under five minutes remaining, but Kurz bagged her second drag flick in the 59th to secure the result.
Germany’s captain Lisa Nolte was named player of the match and said: “I think today everybody did that one step more than yesterday, and we had a good defence, we scored our goals, and it was amazing. I’m proud of the team.”
(Women’s) Belgium 2 – 2 Netherlands (SO: 0 – 2)
The Netherlands were far from their dominant best in a 2-2 draw with Belgium in Antwerp, but they recovered to win the shootout 2-0.
Frédérique Matla gave the Netherlands a second-minute lead from a penalty stroke after a Belgian post defender was struck on the body at a penalty corner. Belgium then stepped up to dominate the rest of the first half, but they still trailed 1-0 at half time.
The Dutch struggled to gain any momentum as the Belgians continued to enjoy the ascendancy in the third quarter, and Delphine Marien equalised with a neat reverse stick chip over the goalkeeper in the 41st minute. The Dutch took some control through the middle of the fourth quarter, but they were uncharacteristically off target and couldn’t capitalise. And it was Belgium who then snuck ahead in the 59th minute, Marien completing her brace with a well-taken penalty corner rebound. There was late drama though when the Dutch earned a penalty corner with 41 seconds left on the clock, and Yibbi Jansen stepped up. Elodi Picard saved the drag flick, but it came up off her kicker, struck her post defender and rolled into the goal to deny them what would have been a well-deserved win. The match then went to a shootout, where the Dutch prevailed.
Joosje Burg of the Netherlands received the player of the match award and said: “It was a really tough match, I’m really happy that we won the shootout, but we can do way, way better than we did today.”
Yibbi Jansen finished as the tournament’s top women’s goal scorer with an impressive haul of 19 but gave credit to her team afterwards, saying: “We train a lot on the penalty corner, I think as a team we try to get the penalty corners in a game, and then we have good injectors, good people that stop the corners, so I think it’s in the end a team performance, but we train a lot on it so it’s nice that it gets the right result.”
(Women’s) India 2 – 3 China
China capped off their best-ever FIH Hockey Pro League tournament with a 3-2 win over India in Berlin, who finished the tournament in the relegation position.
The Chinese dominated the stats in the first half, but it was India who opened the scoring when Sunelita Toppo carried the ball into the circle and struck a clean reverse shot in the ninth minute. There was a long delay to treat Deng Qiuchan on the pitch after she took a ball to the face 10 minutes later, and Zhang Ying then levelled the scores with a drag flick from the resulting penalty corner. Zhang Ying fired China into a 2-1 lead with seconds left in the opening half, rocketing her drag flick high into the net above the post defender’s head.
India were more enterprising in the third quarter, and Rutaja Dadaso Pisal restored parity with a good penalty corner deflection in the 38th minute. The Chinese wrested control back again at the start of the fourth quarter, however, winning a series of penalty corners. Xu Wenyu gave China the lead, and ultimately the win, in the 53rd minute when her well-executed penalty corner deflection found the roof of the net.
The player of the match went to China’s Zhang Ying, who said: “The win is a happy ending for us this season. We enjoyed the game, and we finished it very well, so very happy this season. Now we have a lot of young players giving the young blood in the team, so a lot of energy, which is good for the team.”
(Men’s) Belgium 4 – 4 England (SO: 3 – 0)
Belgium conceded two late goals in their 4-4 draw with England in Antwerp, but they recovered well to win the shootout 3-0 for a bonus point.
Both teams created early opportunities in an electric first half before Phil Roper fired England ahead with his ninth-minute drag flick. The Belgians hit back three minutes later when Guillaume Hellin slapped high into the net from a pinpoint accurate pass through the English defence. Will Calnan then restored England’s lead in the 17th minute after Sam Ward had scrambled the ball out from under the goalkeeper. While Belgium finished the half on the front foot, their penalty corner routines let them down and they still trailed 2-1 at the break.
The Red Lions carried their dominance into the third quarter and Alexander Hendrickx levelled the scores with a powerful drag flick in the 35th minute. He struck the post a minute later, but Tom Boon soon blasted them ahead from open play in the 38th. Boon added a drag flick in the 50th, extending his record-breaking tally for the competition to 21 goals. It looked all over for England, but Zachary Wallace’s penalty stroke in the 55th minute gave them a glimmer of hope, and they yanked their goalkeeper off with just over five minutes remaining. The equaliser for England in the 57th minute was a goal of the highest quality, Jack Waller bulleting a pass to Sam Ward, who deflected it towards the post for Liam Sanford to deflect in. The match then went to a shootout, where Belgium prevailed.
The player of the match was awarded to Belgium’s Tom Boon, who said: “I think we had a really good second half, especially in the fourth quarter, we moved the ball pretty well, and from nowhere they could come back, so it’s certainly something we have to look back at. But all in all, we had a good game.”
As for finishing top goal scorer in the tournament, Boon added: “Since I’m a young kid I just enjoy scoring goals and being able to still do it today I feel really, really fortunate to still be in that team.”
(Men’s) Germany 0 – 2 Spain
Spain needed a full three points to qualify for next year’s FIH Hockey World Cup ahead of Germany, and they successfully claimed them with a thrilling 2-0 win in Berlin.
Alexander Stadler had to make two good saves for the Germans inside the opening minute as Spain earned one penalty corner and had a shot from open play. The match then settled into the hard-fought contest that was expected with a World Cup ticket on the line.
The Spanish lost their discipline around the 13-minute mark, receiving a green and a 10-minute yellow card within a minute of each other. Both teams received green cards in the second quarter, but Spain somehow looked more likely to score despite playing 12 consecutive minutes with at least one player suspended. They snatched a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute when Pau Petchame’s pass across the goal deflected in off a defender’s stick.
There were a couple of half-chances at each end of the pitch in the third quarter, and it was still anybody’s game heading into the final period. But Xavier Gispert doubled Spain’s lead in the 50th minute, carrying the ball into the circle and unleashing a scorching reverse shot into the bottom corner. The Germans then pulled their goalkeeper out to chase the game with seven minutes remaining, but a yellow card for Teo Hinrichs in the 57th minute erased that advantage. Spain had a great opportunity to bury the ball into the empty German net, but Gonzalo Peillat stood bravely on the line and managed to nudge it over the bar. The Germans finished the match on the attack, but they just couldn’t find a goal.
The player of the match was awarded to Xavier Gispert of Spain who said: “It was a bit of a tight match, especially in the middle of the field. The end of the field, I think it’s at the end of the day what matters and what finishes the job, and I think we did that properly today, we had our chances and we took care of them.”
Current Hero Top Scorers:
Women – Yibbi Jansen (NED) (19 goals)
Men – Tom Boon (BEL) (21 goals)
To see the final standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.
FIH Hockey Pro League – 29 June 2025
Ernst Reuter Sportfeld, Berlin, Germany (GER)
Women
Result: Match 70 (W)
Germany 4 – 2 England
Player of the match: Lisa Nolte (GER)
Umpires: Kristy Robertson (AUS), Ayanna McClean (TTO), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN-video)
Result: Match 71 (W)
India 2 – 3 China
Player of the match: Zhang Ying (CHN)
Umpires: Magali Sergeant (BEL), Emi Yamada (JPN), Kristy Robertson (AUS-video)
Men
Result: Match 72 (M)
Germany 0 – 2 Spain
Player of the match: Xavier Gispert (ESP)
Umpires: Paul van den Assum (NED), Hannah Harrison (ENG), Ayanna McClean (TTO – video)
Sportcentrum Wilrijkse Plein-Antwerp, Belgium (BEL)
Women
Result: Match 72 (W)
Belgium 2 – 2 Netherlands (SO: 0 – 2)
Player of the match: Joosje Burg (NED)
Umpires: Ole Ingwersen (GER), Kamile Mockaityte (LTU), Ben Goentgen (GER-video)
Men
Result: Match 71 (M)
Belgium 4 – 4 England (SO: 3 – 0)
Player of the match: Tom Boon (BEL)
Umpires: Ben Goentgen (GER), Ivona Makar (CRO), Kamile Mockaityte (LTU-video)
