Belgium had the best preparation ever says Mathew Cobbaert

Belgium finished sixth in the Junior Hockey World Cup after losing to Australia today. Mathew Cobbaert, captain of the Belgium team said, “We had a lot of opportunities. They (Australia) were a few men down, we should have finished the game at that moment but we didn’t do it. We can’t expect to win if we miss chances.”

Belgium had taken an early lead against Australia after Maxime Plennevaux scored the first goal in the 25th minute. After Australia scored an equalizer in the 39th minute, Belgium bounced back to take the lead two minutes later. However, Australia managed to equal again in the next five minutes. The match then went for shoot-outs which ultimately the Burras won.

“We hate to lose. We had trained really hard for the tournament, perhaps, the best preparation the Belgium team had ever had,” he added.

Belgium, who were among the top favorites to win the cup had a great start in the tournament after they defeated Germany in their first match.

“We played some good game. We won against Germany which is hopefully going to be the World Champions. So, we probably won against the World Champions. We lost to France which is again in the final. So, we played some good matches.”

Next in line for them is the European Championship which begins next summer.

“We will now go back to Belgium, relax a bit and play for our clubs. Then, we recharge ourselves, take positives out of this tour and get back.”

Well said.