South Korea and New Zealand did enough on Tuesday to qualify for the women’s Champions Trophy semi-finals, joining Argentina and the Netherlands.
South Korea ground out a 1-1 draw with top-ranked Argentina, who have won the last three editions, while New Zealand held the Netherlands to a scoreless draw.
South Korea controlled the tempo of their game throughout, Park Mi-hyun breaking through to score with a drive past experienced Argentina goalkeeper Marian Succi toward the end of the first half.
Photo: Reuters
South Korea then shut up shop knowing that a draw would be good enough to see them into the final four.
They held on almost up to the final whistle when Daniela Sruoga equalized for Las Leonas, scrambling in a rebound off the pads of South Korea goalkeeper Moon Young-hui.
“The players did what I asked of them which was to get into the semi-final pool and I am satisfied with a draw against the world champions,” South Korea coach Lim Heung-sin said.
STONEWALLING
Argentina coach Carlos Retegui, however, was less enthusiastic about the single-minded stonewalling tactics of the opposition.
“By playing for a draw in the second half, Korea come into the semi-final pool. We played to put on a good show, but how could we when all Korea wanted to do was draw,” he said.
New Zealand had the better of the first half against the -Netherlands, but the Black Sticks were unable to convert any of their six shots on goal.
The Netherlands changed tactics in the second half, controlled the midfield and earned two penalty corners, but they were unable to break the deadlock against a Kiwi team that is steadily improving.
“Everyone should be aware that New Zealand can play very well and are a threat,” Netherlands coach Max Caldas said.
There was another goalless draw between England and China, who both missed out on a place in the semi-final pool.
LONE VICTOR
Australia were the only side to manage a victory, defeating Germany 1-0 through Jodie Schulz’s low-flick conversion of their sixth penalty corner late in the second half.
Germany hit the post in the last 10 seconds, but veteran Natascha Keller could not reach the rebound.
“We moved the ball quickly and the players used their speed to link on angles with one another, so I think today we took it to another level than previous games — we are building nicely,” Australia coach Adam Commens said.
Yesterday was a rest day in the tournament, followed by the start of the second set of pools today.
In the semi-final group, New Zealand meet South Korea and the Netherlands play Argentina. The top two sides in this pool will meet in the final.
The bottom four teams will battle it out for fifth to eighth.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later