The common thing about such an empty arena is that the audience in front of the TV sets hear every single word that is shouted on the field – whereby: This call from Tobias Hauke would have been audible even in a full stadium and without microphones. “Wake up”, the captain of the German hockey men called to his colleagues when only five minutes had been played in this game against the favored Belgians. They had dominated the game; but also because the Germans seemed to be deeply asleep, and now they were 0-1 behind after a deflected cross from Cedric Charlier.
Only two minutes later Hauke had to shout again, this time Charlier had built a corner under the crossbar, this time he added a few vowels and decibels: “Auuuuuufwaaaaaaacheeeeeeeeeeen!”
They actually woke up, the German men, in the second half they created numerous chances; in the end they lost a game that was sometimes poisonous with 1: 3.
The Belgians are a well-rehearsed and savvy group – and a favorite for the title
“I’m still missing silver, but if I set that as my goal, I’ll accept a defeat in the final right from the start,” said Hauke before the start of the tournament, which is as difficult to assess as the weather forecast for Tokyo. The Belgians, world champions 2018, are considered favorites, but they lost in June in the EM semi-finals against the Netherlands in a penalty shootout – they won the final against Germany, also in a penalty draw. Australia, number one in the world, has not played any intercontinental games since March 2020 due to the pandemic; an assessment of the current form before the tournament was impossible. Hauke said: “When it comes to the level of performance in international hockey, there are no certainties. You can only get yourself into the condition with which you can beat any opponent.”
The Germans easily won their first game 7-1 against Canada, the tournament mode has five group games for each team, the best four of the two six-person pools qualify for the quarter-finals. Experts agree that the German men have caught the trickiest group. They are now waiting, in this order: Great Britain, South Africa, the Netherlands. It’s about getting ahead, about the seeding list for the knockout round, but also about recognizing: Where do you stand and where do the others stand?
The Belgians are a well-rehearsed and well-trained troop who involved the German team in bilious duels and were awarded more fouls by the referees than the Germans wanted to admit. After the 2-0 lead, they managed the game calmly at first, increased to 3-0 shortly after half-time after an (unjustified) penalty corner (this time Alexander Hendrickx hit the crossbar) and then withdrew. The Germans used these rooms, now wide awake, they created many opportunities and could have shortened (for example after a creative penalty corner trick) sooner than ten minutes before the end by Martin Haner. It would have been interesting to see how both teams would have played in a 3-2 draw.
That’s how coach Kais al Saadi saw it afterwards: “What annoys me the most: Belgium has hardly done anything for the game, only administered it. But we didn’t manage to put it on their bread they lose such a game. ” That’s right: The wakeful Germans dominated the game, but what was missing: Precision when passing the circle, concentration when finishing, and a bit of luck. “The statistics of 24:10 circle scenes speak for us, but in the end we didn’t make enough of it,” said offensive player Timm Herzbruch: “We clearly missed the final consequence in the circle and we also messed up too many balls there.”
However, you don’t want to grieve for too long about this defeat. “We will only be annoyed for two hours now, then the focus will be on Great Britain, which are the fittest team in the tournament,” said al Saadi: “We just have to accept that such preliminary rounds never go smoothly.” Perhaps before this game on Tuesday he should tell his captain Tobias Hauke that he should pull out all the vowels and decibels he has available before the game starts and that he yells: “Auuuuuufwaaaaaaacheeeeeeeeeeen!”