Field Hockey World Cup: Tom Boon regains confidence, Alexander Hendrickx injured
“Red Lions” defeated Japan to a large extent thanks to three goals from the forward of “Leopold”, who has not yet scored in this tournament. On the other hand, a possible knee injury to Alexander Hendrickx could be a blow for the Belgians, who are already weakened by various physical problems faced by managers John-John Dohmen, Simon Gougnard and Arthur Van Doren.
Tom Boon He was named Man of the Match by the FIH after scoring a hat-trick against Japan in Rourkela on Friday, according to the international federation. The Belgian striker who said that one of his goals should be thrown Sebastien DockierHe said he was happy with the score he gave Red Lionsthey will have to wait for the result of Germany – South Korea match to know their fate in this Hockey World Cup. “I think it was a good performance”he said on the expanses of the impressive Birsa Munda Stadium. “It’s our job, we’ll see the rest. »
The forward of “Leopold”, flying over the Belgian championship, had not yet scored a goal in India. “I’m happy because I had the same chances in the first two games, but I couldn’t take them. Today (Friday, editor’s note) things went well.”, he smiled. Belgium won 7-1 early in the final quarter to see Japan come back to 4-1. “We wanted to perform so well in attack that sometimes we forget to have a good defensive structure”observed, insisting that it was repeated before the match. “We scored seven goals in total and had a lot of chances. We would sign the victory with two hands with a difference of six balls. »
Vincent Vanash: “We put ourselves in a good position”
Vincent Vanash He settled for the Red Lions’ big win (7-1) against Japan in Rourkela on Friday. The Belgians will still have to wait for Germany’s result to find out if they will top Group B with direct qualification to the Ice Hockey World Cup quarter-finals.
“I think we managed the game well. We knew it would be hot because the Japanese are proud. They wanted to avoid a big defeat.analyzed the Belgian goalkeeper after the match. “We put ourselves in a good position, not bad. » ‘the wall’ But after it came out, I regretted some minor flawsAlex HendrickxHe touched his knee at the beginning of the match. “We had to change the lines. The midfielder was supposed to play in the back and the striker in the middle. This made the chessboard a little uncomfortable. Especially since thenArthur Van Doren must speed up”said the defender about the goalkeeper, who was protected after the trouble at the back against Germany. “I think we played well. When you see Sébastien Dockier’s goal, one stage at a time with a shot that ends up in the ceiling, there is nothing to say”added Vanash, before discussing the performance of the five author Tom Boone. “I hope he will continue this momentum. We’ve been waiting for him and he’s shown what he’s capable of, so much the better. »
If the Germans win against South Korea by 9 goals or more, they will finish first and send the Red Lions to the crossbar against France on Monday (14:30 Belgium). Otherwise, Belgium will face the winner of India-New Zealand in the quarter-finals on Tuesday (2.30pm BST).
MRI for Alexander Hendrickx
This is undoubtedly the black point of Belgium’s victory over Japan (7:1) on the 3rd day of Group B of the Hockey World Cup. Alexander Hendrickx, appointed dream Red Lions and leading scorer of the last Olympic Games, went off injured in the first quarter of Friday’s match at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela, India.
The 29-year-old defender, who did not play again and was seen with an ice pack on his right knee, will have to undergo an MRI after the Belgian delegation returns to their base camp in Bhubaneswar. Although the computer was the Belgian’s lethal weapon at the Olympics, especially with Hendrickx’s 14 goals, the stage has yet to be fully developed during this World Cup. The Red Lions failed to hit even one of the six PCs they got on Friday. “We will have to find some tricks because we have seen that things are not going well. We have a few days to improve it before the crucial matches., – Vincent Vanash said after the meeting. An injury to Alex Hendrickx would be a huge blow Michel van den Heuvelhe was already worried by the back-to-back mistakes at the start of the tournament John-John Dohmen, Arthur Van Doren and Simon Gougnard.