BHUBANESWAR: England and France were triumphant on the first day of the knock-out phase of the Men’s Hockey World Cup, sealing their places in the competition quarter-finals with victories over New Zealand and China respectively.

England’s 2-0 triumph against the Black Sticks sets up a quarter-final clash against Olympic champions Argentina, the team that defeated them in the bronze medal match at the 2014 World Cup in The Hague four years ago.

For France, their success against China means that the competition’s lowest ranked team must now face a quarter-final meeting against the event’s highest, with reigning world champions Australia being their opponents in the last eight.

England arguably had the better of the first period against New Zealand that was short on genuine goal-scoring opportunities, with England goalkeeper George Pinner stepping out to deny Hugo Inglis while New Zealand shot-stopper Richard Joyce made a comfortable glove save from Mark Gleghorne’s penalty corner drag-flick.

England took the lead in the second quarter thanks to a close-range finish from Will Calnan, although the undisputed architect was Phil Roper, who escaped his marker before bursting into the circle and coolly lifting the ball over Joyce for Calnan to force home at the back post.

That advantage was almost doubled when Liam Ansell’s strike flew just wide of the target before New Zealand’s Nick Ross stung the pads of Pinner with a ferocious volley from the top of the circle, giving Danny Kerry’s team a timely reminder that this match was far from over.

Stephen Jenness came close to levelling the scores on three occasions in the third quarter, but it was England who doubled the advantage a minute before the end of the period to make life increasingly difficult for the Black Sticks. A penalty corner from Adam Dixon rattled the right post before Luke Taylor smashed home the follow-up to put England firmly in control of the match.

New Zealand replaced their goalkeeper with an outfield player in the latter stages, but England’s defence held firm to secure a berth in the competition quarter-finals.

France and China started this World Cup as the lowest ranked teams in the competition, but both had made it through to the knock-out stages of the event. Neither wanted their journey to end here, but it was fate awaiting one of these nations.

The two teams came into this match on the back of very different results, with France having stunned Olympic champions Argentina with a 5-3 victory while China were crushed 11-0 by reigning world champions Australia. Despite those outcomes, the early stages of this match were far closer than many had predicted, with China’s defensive line being particularly impressive.

The match remained score-less in the second quarter, although France certainly had the better chances with Blaise Rogeau twice going close and Etienne Tynevez hitting the left post of the China goal with an angled deflection.

Shortly after China’s E Wenhui forced a save from France goalkeeper Arthur Thieffry in the early stages of the third quarter, Les Bleus finally broke the deadlock thanks to a true striker’s finish from Nicolas Clemont, who guided Maximilien Branicki’s cross-shot into the China goal. China responded immediately by winning a penalty corner, but the attempt on goal from Du Talake was deemed dangerous after hitting France defender Victor Charlet on the knee.

China had two penalty corner opportunities to pull themselves level in the final quarter, but it was not to be. France, the lowest ranked team in the competition, were into the quarter-finals, much to the delight of Head Coach Jeroen Delmee.

The last two cross-over matches on Tuesday will decide the remaining two quarter-finalists. In the first match, Belgium will take on Pakistan while the Netherlands will be up against Canada in the second.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2018