Spain outplayed Germany 3-0 and Australia defeated Netherlands 3-2 meaning both winners qualified for the Champions Trophy final yesterday. Australia had a chance to make the final if either Spain or Australia lost as Argentina shares 10 points with Spain and Australia but has a poorer goal difference and therefore plays Netherlands for third place.
Argentina’s best result in their three previous Champions Trophy appearances was fifth place in 1987 and 2003. Spain started impressively, scoring 12 seconds after the start as Santiago Freixa passed to defender Ramon Alegre running through on the right who drove to the left post where Pol Amat crashed a backstick deflection into the net.
“Spain coach Maurits Hendriks admitted to being surprised by the goal. It was not a set move we practice but one worked out by the players so it surprised me when I saw it,” Hendriks said. “We have the creativity in the team to make this type of move.”
Spain maintained a high tempo to run Germany around as Sebastian Biederlack was under suspension for the match and Germany played with one less player. David Alegre scored a field goal and Santiago Freixa converted Spain’s third penalty corner, getting a deflection into goal off the stick of Germany’s runner to seal the match. Hendriks praised his team’s effort.
“It was an all-round solid performance from the first moment,” Hendriks said.
Germany coach Markus Weise was dejected following the loss.
“I’m disappointed and we lack energy right now,” Weise said.
Netherlands 3-2 loss to Australia was crafted by Jamie Dwyer and Eddie Ockenden, assisted by the pressure of expectations of the capacity crowd expecting nothing less than a Netherlands win. Netherlands were unwilling to take risks to win. Netherlands Roderick Weusthof drilled Netherlands second penalty corner into Australia goalkeeper Stephen Lambert and the rebound fell to Geert-Jan Derikx at the left post to make an easy push into goal behind Lambert.
For 10 minutes from the middle of the first half Australia camped in Netherlands defensive quarter, pressuring for the equalizer which finally came when Grant Schubert punished a defensive error by Robert van der Horst and drove into the top of goal from the left with 11 seconds to play before the break. Australia continued to pressure Netherlands in the second half, gaining several shots on goal.
Netherlands captain Jeroen Delmee passed over 40m to Jeroen Hertzberger who deflected high into goal to bring the Rotterdam crowd to its feet.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
Taiwanese pitcher Teng Kai-wei took the mound in New York on Saturday as the starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in his MLB season debut against the New York Mets, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing five runs. The Taiwanese right-hander struggled early, giving up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, including a three-run homer to Mets slugger Pete Alonso — his 250th career home run. However, Teng was not fazed and soon found his footing, holding the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the second and third innings. Meanwhile, Mets starter Kodai Senga of Japan made a few errors
RSS