As of: 01/29/2023 6:50 p.m
Germany won the Hockey World Cup for the third time in the final against Belgium. The team came back from a 0-2 deficit and won the penalty shootout.
The German hockey men are world champions for the first time in 17 years. The DHB selection won the final in Bhubaneswar, India, on Sunday (January 29, 2023) 5: 4 in a penalty shoot-out against defending champion Belgium. After regulation time the score was 3:3. The Netherlands had previously secured bronze against Australia (3:1).
Belgium was already world champion in 2018 and thus traveled to the tournament as the defending champion. Germany previously won the tournament in 2002 and 2006. The hockey men had won their last major title in 2013 at the European Championships.
“It will take me a few days to realize that,” said Germany’s player of the match Niklas Wellen. “It was a team effort from us. The fact that we came back three times in knockout games is not luck but shows the quality, the mentality and the character of this team.” Wellen had become a father for the first time during the tournament. “The last three weeks have been by far the most exciting of my life.“
Belgium takes an early lead, Germany finds an answer
Florent van Aubel (9th minute) and Tanguy Cosyns (10th) gave Belgium a quick and deserved lead. After a penalty thrown by Tom Grambusch (18′), Germany came back shortly before the end of the second quarter through waves (29′). In the third quarter, Gonzalo Peillat then equalized (41st).
The turnaround seemed complete when Grambusch scored the first German lead in the final section in the 48th minute. But Belgium also found an answer and made it 3-3 a minute before the end of regular time through Tom Boon (59th).
In the penalty shootout, Germany converted five out of seven attempts, Belgium only four. The decision came when Germany goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg saved Tanguy Cosyns’ ball.
Germany already experienced drama in the previous rounds
National coach André Henning was just “incredibly happy for this crazy team. Now we’re at the top”. Turning a 2-0 defeat into a win three times in a row in a knockout game shows his team’s “unbridled will and outstanding mental strength”.
The German team experienced a dramatic gameplay against Australia in the semifinals. The team equalized a 0:2 and a 2:3 to win 4:3 in the end. In the quarter-finals, Germany was 2-0 down against England, drew 2-2 and won in the shootout.
Chancellor Scholz congratulates
Congratulations came from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others: “That was an impressive achievement! Congratulations to the men’s national hockey team for winning the world championship,” wrote the politician on Twitter.
DHB President Henning Fastrich was also enthusiastic. “The whole of Hockey Germany is proud of this team,” said Fastrich. With the title win and the prospect of another successful tournament at the European Championships in Mönchengladbach in August, the economic situation of the association can also improve. “We are all working very hard to ensure that the next period up to a final is not so long again, but that development continues,” sporting director Martin Schultze said before the final.
Source: sportschau.de