2022 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup: The Netherlands and Australia top Pools A and D

The hopes of Ireland to pull off a repeat of the 2018 Women's FIH World Cup were crushed with a disappointing 3-0 loss to Germany at Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen. South Africa won against Australia 2-1 at Estadi Olímpic de Terrassa in Spain, sending Japan to the playoffs for the 13th to 16th spot alongside Ireland.

Australia vs South Africa

Australia and South Africa engaged in a fast-paced and intense match as both squads opened the scoring in the opening quarter. Penny Squibb opened the scoring for Australia with a powerful strike from a penalty corner to make it 1-0 for Australia. Just five minutes later, South Africa was handed a penalty corner with the efforts of Onthatile Zulu. Lilian du Plessis took the shot and slotted the ball past the Australian goalkeeper Jocelyn Bartram to level the score.

Australia regained control of the game in the second quarter. They launched a barrage of attacks on the South African side. Malone Ambrosia regained the lead for Australia in the 23rd minute with a shot on a penalty corner rebound. The first half ended with a 2-1 advantage for Australia.

The Australian squad started the second half aggressively. However, despite many opportunities from penalty corners, they failed to score any goals. South Africa could not launch any dangerous attack but did not concede any more goals in the second half. Australia won the match 2-1, securing the top spot in Pool D.

Japan vs Belgium

There was not much to separate the teams in the opening quarter as both teams created opportunities to score but failed to convert, and the first half opened goallessly. Stephanie Vanden Borre opened the scoring for Belgium in the 24th minute with an excellent penalty corner flick past Japanese goalkeeper Eika Nakamura to make it 1-0.

Japan desperately tried to pull off a reversal with an excellent goal to finish ahead of South Africa. However, Belgium regained control in the third quarter as Vanden Borre Stephanie scored her second goal from a penalty corner to double the lead. Ballenghien Ambre extended with another penalty corner shot into the left corner of the Japanese goal to seal the victory for the Belgian squad.

The Netherlands vs Chile

World No. 1 Netherlands locked horns with the Chilean squad, competing in the world cup for the first time. Chilean captain Camila Caram was watching the match from the sidelines due to a one-match ban. Chile's spirited performance in the first half as goalkeeper Claudia Schuler made several brilliant saves to deny the Dutch squad the opening goal.

The Netherlands finally broke in the 14th minute when Lidewij Welten slotted a rebound on a penalty corner flick from Frederique Malta into the net. The South American squad launched a counterattack in the second quarter. Francisca Tala equalized the score for Chile after receiving a well-placed pass in front of the Dutch goal from Paula Valvida. The first half ended with both squads tied 1-1.

Jansen Yibbi in the 41st minute and De Goede Eva in the 51st minute added two more goals to further widen the lead for the Netherlands. The Chilean squad gave a tough fight but failed to match the top-ranked team in Women's Hockey. The 3-1 victory secured a quarterfinal spot for The Netherlands by cementing their top place in Pool A with nine points.

Germany vs Ireland

Captain of Ireland Katy Mullan spearheaded the aggressive start of Ireland with constant attacks on the German defence with the hopes of keeping their World Cup dream alive. The goal of the German squad was to secure a second spot finish in Pool A.

Within the regulation time, Lorenz Nike in the 23rd minute, Stapenhorst Charlotte in the 36th minute and Zimmermann Sonja in the 56th minute scored for Germany, while none of the players scored for the Irish side.

Germany dominated the game for most of the much and secured a comfortable 3-0 victory. The Irish side had some moments of brilliance but failed to capitalize on any of the opportunities, pushing them into the playoffs of the last four spots.