On Monday 5 August, the Yves-du-Manoir Hockey Stadium provides the stage for the women’s quarter-finals, where eight teams will fight it out for the four available semi-finals spots here at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Ahead of the big day, we take a quick look at four matches that will take place.
Australia v China – 10:00 CEST
Pool B winners Australia will start their match against China, the fourth ranked team in Pool A, as strong favourites. Having claimed four wins and a draw from their pool campaign, the Hockeyroos are clearly in confident mood. However, China come into this contest on the back of a 7-1 thrashing of hosts France, a high-quality performance that showed how dangerous they can be on their day. With former Aussie team-mates (and double Olympic gold medallists) in charge of the two teams – Katrina Powell for the Hockeyroos, Alyson Annan for China – it will be fascinating to see how this contest plays out.
Argentina v Germany – 12:30 CEST
Meeting in the quarter-finals for the second Olympics in succession, Argentina recorded a 3-0 victory over Die Danas at Tokyo 2020 with goals coming from Agustina Albertarrio, Victoria Granatto and Valentina Raposo. It’s anybody’s guess whether history will repeat itself in Paris, but Argentina have looked very good so far in this competition. They were unbeaten in Pool B, claiming four wins and a draw to finish second behind Australia on goal difference. Germany have enjoyed some brilliant moments here, claiming three wins to finish third in Pool A. They also have two players currently in the race for tournament top scorer, with Nike Lorenz having netted six times and Charlotte Stapenhorst five.
Netherlands v Great Britain – 17:30 CEST
Having won all five of their Pool A matches and scored an astonishing 19 goals, the Netherlands are hot favourites to retain their Olympic gold medal. Tournament top scorer Yibbi Jansen is in imperious form, having already scored seven goals for her country here in Paris. However, Great Britain – who finished fourth in Pool B – should certainly not be underestimated. The team has medalled at the last three Olympic Games, famously defeating the Netherlands to win gold at Rio 2016 as well as claiming bronze at both London 2012 and Tokyo 2020.
Belgium v Spain – 20:00 CEST
Belgium’s strong showing in Pool A, winning four out of five matches, suggests that they are the team to beat in this particular clash. However, the same was said ahead of Sunday’s quarter-final meeting between the two nations’ men’s teams before Spain tore up the script, knocking defending champions Belgium out of the competition. While Pool B’s third placed team Spain will believe lightning can strike twice at Yves-du-Manoir, they know they face a Red Panthers side bang in form. Striker Ambre Ballenghien has six goals to her name at Paris 2024 and is clearly a huge attacking threat for Belgium. If Spain can keep her quiet, anything can happen.
Women’s Quarter-Finals – Monday 5 August 2024 (all times CEST)
10:00: Australia v China – Match 4
12:30: Argentina v Germany – Match 2
17:30: Netherlands v Great Britain – Match 1
20:00: Belgium v Spain – Match 3
Semi-finals – Wednesday 7 August 2024 (times TBC)
Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2
Winner Match 3 v Winner Match 4
The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place from Saturday 27 July to Friday 9 August. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey.
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