The Netherlands are the highest ranked team in Pool D with an FIH ranking of 4, followed by Germany (6), Malaysia (12), and Pakistan (13). It is undoubtedly one of the toughest Pools formed as all the three teams besides Malaysia have lifted the Hockey World Cup trophy in previous editions.
The first match to be played on the day is between Germany and the Netherlands. The Seve van Ass-led side began their campaign on a strong note as they completely thrashed the 2018 Asian Games silver medallists Malaysia in their opening match. The 2014 World Cup silver medalists have their forwards in sublime form.
They went on to win their first match against Malaysia 7-0 with a superb hat-trick from star forward Jeroen Hertzberger and a goal-a-piece from Mirco Pruyser, Mink van der Weerden, Robbert Kemperman, and Thierry Brinkman.
The Netherlands went on to score so many goals despite the fact that the Malaysian goalkeeper Kumar Subramaniam pulled off some stunning saves in the match. They had a whopping 29 shots on goal and 42 circle penetrations and even hit the crossbar twice.
On the other hand, Germany went up against Pakistan to kickstart their campaign of the Hockey World Cup. Marco Miltkau’s goal in the 36th minute helped Stefan Kermas and his troops get three points as they won 1-0. The encounter lived up to its expectations of being a cracker.
Zubair of Pakistan had a great chance to equalize right after Germany scored but missed a sitter at the goalmouth. Germany’s Grambusch was also a delight to watch as he created many opportunities and also won the Player of the match award. Stefan Kermas and his boys now have a more challenging task at hand as they get ready to face The Netherlands.
Here is all you need to know about the upcoming match between Germany and The Netherlands:
Event: Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018
Venue: Bhubaneswar, India
Date: 5 December 2018
Time: 5:00 pm Indian Standard Time (IST)
Telecast
India: Star Sports, Star Sports HD
UK: BT Sport
Australia: Fox Sports
Spain: Eurosport
New Zealand: Sky Sports (NZ)
Argentina: ESPN
South Africa: SuperSport
Live Streaming: Hotstar, FIH Official Youtube Channel
Live Updates: Sportskeeda
Prediction
The match between Germany and Netherlands is of paramount importance in the Pool of Death as it is likely to determine the team which will progress straight to the quarterfinals.
The Dutch are looking as hungry as ever and even though Germany are a terrific team, it is Max Caldas and his troops who will be the favourites to take the full three points from this match.
Score Prediction: Netherlands 2 - 1 Germany
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