In just over a month the 12th Hockey World Cup will hit off in Delhi, India. With twelve of the fourteen nations, based on world rankings, any team will be capable of lifting the trophy.
Pool A will be contested by;
Germany
Currently ranked number one in the world, the Germans qualified after finishing 2nd in the European championship. They were the only team defeat Australia at last years Champions Trophy, with a 3-1 victory in the round robin stage. The main weakness for the German team is their inconsistency with the Germans losing games that they should win.The Germans will either be contenders or pretenders, and I’m predicting the former.
Prediction: 3rd
Netherlands
Considered to be the best Hockey nation in the world, the Dutch have struggled in recent years only winning one international tournament in the last 4 years (Champions Trophy 2006) and failing to finish above 3rd since then (including a disastrous 7th at the last World Cup). Their performance at the World Cup will dictate whether the Dutch are truly on the decline or if they can turn their slide in the world rankings around.
Prediction: 5th
Korea
The Koreans are the top ranked team in Asia going into the world cup and will look to improve on their 3rd place finish at last years Champions Trophy. The confidence that the Koreans would have taken out of last years Champions Trophy event (which included wins over the Dutch and Germans) and victory against the Kookaburra’s in Hobart should see them finishing top of Pool A, but I think that will be the highlight of the tournament for the Koreans
Prediction: 4th
New Zealand
The Black Sticks qualified for the World Cup through the second qualification tournament after losing the Oceania cup to Australia, beating 5 other teams through, including the likes of China and Malaysia. Unfortunately for the Kiwi’s they a lack of match practice against top teams will hold them back.
Prediction: 8th
Canada
Winning the Pan American cup gave the Canadians direct qualification to the World Cup, and whilst it is not the toughest qualification route the victory was certainly well earned. The Canadians also finished last in the Champions Challenge 1 in 2009 (the next tier after the Champions Trophy), I can’t see the Canuks improving on this making them the first of the also rans.
Prediction: 11th
Argentina
The Argentinians made the World Cup the hard way after finishing 3rd in the Pan American Cup behind Canada and the US (who failed to qualify), and winning their way through the 3rd qualifying tournament beating the likes of Belgium and the US. Whilst very strong in the womens side of the game this has failed to transfer through for the men and I can’t see them making much of an impact at the World cup.
Prediction: 10th
And Pool B;
Australia
The best team in the world even if the World rankings don’t agree, Australia has played an exhaustive series of matches over the last year against top ranked teams winning the vast majority of them. Included in this run was the Champions Trophy title, a 7-2 win over the Netherlands and 8-1 and 10-3 wins over Spain. I can’t see anyone challenging the ascendency.
Prediction: 1st
Spain
The wildly inconsistent Spanish team qualified by finishing 4th in the European Championship. No one can predict what they will do in any individual match, and while this makes them very hard to play against they don’t seem to be able to grind out the tough matches.
Prediction: 6th
England
Although England won the European Championship, they finished 6th (and last) at the champions trophy last year. While many people took some heart out of their performances, the English simply could not compete in the heat, and I can’t see this improving in the short term.
Prediction: 7th
Pakistan
Most of the spectators at the tournament will be cheering for 2 teams; India and whoever is playing Pakistan. Even though Pakistan had a tough qualification, it would not have prepared them for the atmosphere that they are going to walk into, their only hope is to defeat India in their first match.
Prediction: 9th
India
As one of the traditional powerhouses of Hockey, India will be trying to improve on their record of 1 world cup title, and their recent record in international competition. If the Indian team can overcome their internal difficulties the home crowd advantage should be enough to get them over the line against most of their opponents.
Prediction: 2nd
South Africa
South Africa had the easiest qualification to the World cup after not having to play another nation ranked in the top 20 in the world (the nearest is Egypt at 23). Even though they are ranked higher than Argentina (only because they gained more points by winning the African Cup of Nations), I can’t see them finishing anywhere higher than last.
Prediction: 12th
I see the placings as follows:
1.Australia
2.India
3.Germany
4.Korea
5.Netherlands
6.Spain
7.England
8.NewZealand
9.Pakistan
10.Argentina
11.Canada
12.South Africa
What’s your best bet? For great odds on all your favourite sports check out PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
Olympic swimming legend and Australian Sports Commission boss Kieren Perkins has warned that "someone will die" if a multi-sport event that allows athletes to…
In 2015 when heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko, the fighter regarded by many as the ‘Greatest of all time’ in the sport,…
Join Australia's most vibrant online sports community and you have the chance to win $1000. The Roar is the perfect blend of sports reporting,…
Here is a review of our boxers who made a splash in the world rankings over the past year.
After intense debate at Roar HQ, we’ve selected the 23 most controversial moments for 2023.
