‘You want to play your best in front of your own supporters,’ says Maartje Paumen, captain of the Dutch women’s hockey team. The Oranje women are ranked number one in the world and won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Robert van der Horst, captain of the men’s team, expects his players to be boosted by the energy of the home crowd. ‘Our goal is simple,’ he says. ‘We are just going for the first place and the world title.’

Ball speed
The Dutch women also hope to add the world title to their string of victories, after coming second in 2010. ‘The strong point of the Dutch team is that we really like to play a passing game so the speed is in the ball, not the player,’ says Paumen, who was voted World Hockey Player of the Year by the FIH in 2013. ‘Each player has their own talents and creativity. We have a good goalie and a great penalty corner.’

Young and strong
The Dutch men’s team are third in the world rankings, were third at the 2010 World Cup and won silver at the Olympics. ‘We are ready for the World Cup,’ says Van der Horst. ‘We have a young, strong team and we’ve playing together for four or five years now. We have a smart and strong team and are especially good at speeding up the game. We hope to get a lot of energy from the Dutch supporters and to give it back as well. We’re going to make this one big Dutch hockey party.’

World Cup app and Facebook
Want to know more about the Dutch teams ? Download the World Cup app (App Store or Google play) or go to our Facebook page which this week focuses on Holland. There you can check out the video ‘This is Holland!’, featuring the captains and different players. You can find more extensive information on the website via the country pages.

Preparations
The Dutch teams are being hosted by The Hague hockey club hdm in the run up to the tournament.