England subdued as Belgium cut loose to reach World Cup final
Not even a welcome pre-match curry night for health-conscious England could deliver the extra spice needed to overcome Belgium as they succumbed gingerly to their European rivals in yesterday’s World Cup semi-finals.
England’s attempt to reach their first World Cup final overseas was curtailed in blistering style during a second-half onslaught which yielded four goals in 11 minutes and left Danny Kerry’s side facing a bronze-medal match against Australia this morning.
Victory for Belgium, whose previous best finish had been fifth in 2014, marked a first world final berth, adding to their Olympic and European silvers and remarkable rise to the top of world hockey. Their final against Holland will be a European heavyweight showdown of skill and pace which England, featuring 13 World Cup debutants, failed to match thanks to Belgium’s precise zonal marking, tight defence and superb ball retention.
“It wasn’t as crazy as it looked. It felt like we had a bit of control but we needed more intensity and zip,” said midfielder Barry Middleton. “We had to chase the game. We could sit and let it go by or take a chance and open up a bit. We did that but they took their chances.”
That began in the eighth minute when Belgium broke from the back and Tom Boon deflected past keeper George Pinner. England were now chasing a game from behind for the third time at this World Cup as Belgium’s passing game and increasing turnover ball began to tell.
Boon rattled Pinner’s crossbar following a crash ball into the circle soon afterwards. Then came Belgium’s second via a penalty corner rebound save off a diving Pinner, which Simon Gougnard slapped home. His emotion was evident as the Red Lions players, wearing black armbands, swarmed to their team-mate following the death of Gougnard’s father on Friday.
England’s only hope seemed to come with their own corner routines but all four chances came to nothing.
An even third quarter was then broken when Cedric Charlier struck low and hard across Pinner.
A fourth goal seemed inevitable as England’s defence wilted. It came with the last strike of the third quarter as Alexander Hendrickx struck the first of two corners past the hapless Pinner.
A rocket in the final quarter from Sebastien Dockier underlined Belgium’s superiority.
With a lengthy three-week World Cup, which bizarrely allowed for a prolonged pool stage and then back-to-back matches for the final four, today’s encounter against Australia will be a brutally physical test for both teams.
England will be playing their third bronze-medal match in a row after two fourth-place finishes, with Middleton playing in both the 2010 and 2014 defeats.
Australia lost 4-3 in a shoot-out to the Dutch after their semi-final ended 2-2, and with it their challenge for an unprecedented hat-trick of titles.