S2H Team
Will it be Belgium or the Netherlands who will be crowned Men’s 2021 EuroHockey champions? Or will it be Germany who will claim a ninth title? But ignore the claims of England and Spain at your own peril.
Then again, there’s the other important question. Who will book five direct tickets on offer at the championship to the 2023 World Cup in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela? The answer shouldn’t be too difficult – the aforementioned quintet – all former winners — are most likely to do so without too much ado unless France have other ideas.
A plate round-robin league follows the preliminary pools with the winner finishing overall fifth and gaining a passage to the World Cup.
Wales and Russia, even given the glorious uncertainties of sport, are long shots of making the trip to Odisha but one never knows – the fight for the fifth place will be intense and the memories of France outwitting Olympic champions Argentina at the 2018 World Cup is rife in the memory.
On the opening day, Germany pulverized Wales 8-1 and hosts the Netherlands, five-time winners, cruised to a 3-0 win over France in front of their home crowd to stay on course for semifinal berths from the four-nation pool.
Belgium, England, Spain – all having won the championship once before — and Russia comprise the other pool. One of Belgium, England and Spain will miss the bus to the semi-finals along with Russia who have an insurmountable mountain to climb.
There’s more riding on the Euro championship. The Tokyo Olympics are approaching fast and, for the first time, the continental championship will be held in the year of the Olympics.
Belgium, the defending European champions, are also the World Cup and FIH Pro League winners. They finished with the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics which eventually has deprived them of a “Super Grand Slam”.
The Red Lions, should they retain their Euro title in Amstelveen, will travel to Tokyo to do what only Germany have done – win an Olympic gold medal after winning the continental title, a feat performed three times.
The first European Nations Cup was held at Brussels 1970 with Germany clinching the title. They then won Olympic gold at Munich 1972. The Germans, four-time Olympic champions, repeated the feat by winning the Euro title at Paris 1991 and Moenchengladbach 2011, carrying the winning touch to the 1992 Barcelona and London 2012 Olympics.
FIH World No. 1 ranked Belgium, whose surge up the rankings in the last decade and a half, have an excellent chance of emulating Germany.