The Dutch men’s and women’s teams may not be able to win anything except for pride during this year’s Rabobank Hockey World League. For the other international teams a lot more is at stake. On Tuesday and Wednesday these teams can qualify for next year’s world cup.
The top four women’s and men’s team automatically qualify for the World Cup to be held in The Hague next team. And finishing in the top four means winning the quarter final match. This is also the case for the top four teams of the Hockey World League played in London and Johor, Malaysia.
Wednesday is quarter final time for the men, today however it is up to the women. The Dutch ladies play India tonight, for Holland only pride is to be won. If India can force a surprising win, we shall be seeing them next year in The Hague. Should they lose then a final ticket can be won during the continental championships.
The other quarter finals are: Germany – Chile, New Zealand – Japan and South Korea – Belgium. The German ladies should beat lower ranked Chile, but the other matches are more interesting. New Zealand and Belgium both face tough Asian sides, seeking for qualification for the World Cup.
Besides a World Cup ticket the teams at this year’s tournament can also reach the final round of the Hockey World league. The woman will battle this out from November 30th until December 8th in Argentina. www.hockey.nl