The first six of the 24 teams that will take part in the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014 in The Hague have won their places following the completion of the first of the Third Rounds of the World Hockey League. For the men, Belgium, Australia and the Netherlands are assured of a place; for the women Germany, the Netherlands and Korea are through following the Third Round competition in Rotterdam.
The New Zealand men’s and women’s teams both ended their Third Round competition in fourth place but are still in with a chance because the Netherlands, as host nation, automatically qualifies for the World Cup, meaning a place in each event will go to the best Third Round losers. These final World Cup places will be allocated at the end of this year after all the Third Round events (Rotterdam, London and Malaysia) and continental championships have been completed.
Winners
The Belgian men’s team was a surprise winner of the Rotterdam event after beating Australia 7-6 with no less than a nine-round penalty shoot-out. The Netherlands beat New Zealand in the play-offs for third place 4-1.
In the women’s event, Germany beat Oranje 4-3 on shoot-outs. The Netherlands had led almost since the start of the match but Germany equalized with just two minutes ago, taking the game to a shoot-out. Korea beat New Zealand 3-2 also on penalty shoot-outs to take third place.