Pool Play Ends

If there's one thing that people ask me more often than not, it's what I do during the summer when it comes to both The Hockey Show and HBIC. My answer is always the same: there's still hockey being played or hockey business being done, so nothing stops. One of the best parts of Olympic years, however, is getting to bring the sport of field hockey onto the blog as the 2024 Summer Olympc Games have featured pool games throughout the last week. However, the pool games came to a close today as we prepare for the medal round in both men's and women's field hockey, so let's find out which countries are aiming for a spot on the podium and which countries gave it their all in Paris.

We'll start on the women's side of the tournament where the twelve teams closed out pool play on August 3 with quarterfinals scheduled to begin today. Four teams from each pool will advance.

POOL A

Country	Wins	Draws	Losses	Pts	GF	GA	GD	Place
Netherlands	5	0	0	15	19	5	+14	1st
Belgium	4	0	1	12	13	4	+9	2nd
Germany	3	0	2	9	12	7	+5	3rd
China	2	0	3	6	15	10	+5	4th
Japan	1	0	4	3	2	15	-13	5th
France	0	0	5	0	4	24	-20	6th

You may be wondering how Japan ended up in fifth-place in the pool with just two goals scored, and that's because they beat France 1-0 and scored one of the five goals surrendered by Netherlands in the tournament. There were no major blowouts in this pool as the biggest score was a 7-1 win by China over France in a meaningless game after Japan had lost earlier in the day, but all of Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and China will advance to the medal round.

POOL B

Country	Wins	Draws	Losses	Pts	GF	GA	GD	Place
Australia	4	1	0	13	15	5	+10	1st
Argentina	4	1	0	13	16	7	+9	2nd
Spain	2	1	2	7	6	7	-1	3rd
Great Britain	2	0	3	6	8	12	-4	4th
United States	1	1	3	4	5	13	-8	5th
South Africa	0	0	5	0	4	10	-6	6th

Both Australia and Argentina finished tied for points in the standings after they played to a 3-3 draw on August 1 that saw Australia score in the 60th minute to earn the draw, but the goal differential for Australia pushed them into first-place in the pool. Spain's 2-1 win over Great Britain and 1-1 draw with the Americans on back-to-back days helped them climb ahead of the British women for third-place, so it will be Australia, Argentina, Spain, and Great Britain moving on to the medal round. And we also know who will play whom!

With the crossover between the pools, we'll see the Netherlands play Great Britain, Argentina will face Germany, Belgium and Spain will meet, and China and Australia will play for a berth in the semifinals. Updates will be posted here on HBIC after the games are played today as we move through the medal round, so make sure you check back for information on which teams will play for medals!

The men wrapped up pool play on August 2, and four teams for each of the two pools would advance. Four teams would head home early from the event, but there was certainly some drama seen.

POOL A

Country	Wins	Draws	Losses	Pts	GF	GA	GD	Place
Germany	4	0	1	12	16	6	+10	1st
Netherlands	3	1	1	10	16	9	+7	2nd
Great Britain	2	2	1	8	11	7	+4	3rd
Spain	2	1	2	7	11	12	-1	4th
South Africa	1	1	3	4	11	17	-6	5th
France	0	1	4	1	8	22	-14	6th

The British men got off to a great start with a 4-0 win over Spain before Spain bounced back the next day with a win over Germany. It looked like this pool might be chaos, but things settled down as the games progressed. Spain may have missed an opportunity when they salvaged a 3-3 draw with France after trailing late while the British tied the Dutch 2-2 after trailing by two goals with eight minutes to play. At the end of pool play, we'll see Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain, and Spain playing for medals over the next week.

POOL B

Country	Wins	Draws	Losses	Pts	GF	GA	GD	Place
Belgium	4	1	0	13	15	7	+8	1st
India	3	1	1	10	10	7	+3	2nd
Australia	3	0	2	9	12	10	+2	3rd
Argentina	2	2	1	8	8	6	+2	4th
Ireland	1	0	4	3	4	9	-5	5th
New Zealand	0	0	5	0	4	14	-10	6th

Belgium made a statement with a 6-2 win over Australia, but the Argentinians found weaknesses after Belgium had to rally to earn a 3-3 tie on the final day of pool play. India might be the best defensive team in the pool as they didn't score more than three goals in any game while drawing Argentina 1-1 and falling to Belgium by 2-1 score. Australia beat Argentina 1-0 in their opening games of the tournament, and that helped Australia finish higher. The four teams moving on to the medal round include Belgium, India, Australia, and Argentina. Who will play whom? Read on!

The medal round began yesterday, so let's jump right into the results.

GERMANY vs. ARGENTINA: The Germans took a 2-1 lead into the halftime break, but a goal at the 48th minute by Agustin Mazilli evened things up at 2-2. However, Justus Weigand scored at the 54th minute to put Germany back in front, and they'd advance with the 3-2 victory in their quarterfinal game.

INDIA vs. GREAT BRITAIN: A 1-1 tie at halftime carried through to the final whistle as the two defensively-minded teams would need a penalty shootout to decide this quarterfinal. The first two shooters for both sides scored, but the third round saw Lalit Kumar Upadhyay score for India while Conor Williamson was denied for Great Britain. Round four saw Raj Kumar Pal put the pressure on Great Britain with his goal, and Phil Roper could not convert on his opportunity as India defeated Great Britain 4-2 on penalty strokes to advance.

NETHERLANDS vs. AUSTRALIA: A closely-contested match through the first half produced a 0-0 tie at halftime. However, Duco Telgenkamp and Thijs van Dam scored in the second half to push the Dutch to a 2-0 victory over the Australians to advance.

BELGIUM vs. SPAIN: Belgium and Spain played a very tight-checking opening half as they carried a 0-0 score into the break. In the second half, Spain went up 1-0 at the 40th minute before Belgium responded at the 41st minute to make it 1-1. In the 55th minute, Spain made it a 2-1 game before Marc Miralles put Belgium in all kinds of trouble with his goal at the 57th minute to make it 3-1 for Spain. Belgium would score in the 58th minute, but it wouldn't be enough as Spain upset the undefeated Belgians by a 3-2 score to advance!

The men's semifinal matches will be played on August 6, and we'll see Netherlands take on Spain while Germany gets India to decide who will play for gold and who will move to the bronze-medal game. Again, updates will be posted here on HBIC, so make sure you check back for all the results!

Medals will be handed out on August 8 for the men and August 9 for the women, and HBIC will watching to see who will stand atop the podium in Paris in 2024! Best of luck to all the remaining teams!

Until next time, keep your stick on the pitch!