The five qualifying nations for the men's hockey World Cup in Monchengladbach in September are now known. England, who had already qualified by vitue of finishing at the top of their pool, beat favourites Pakistan 3-1 to take the bronze. The gold/silver match was between New Zealand and Korea, the Blacksticks winning 4-1. Joining England, Pakistan, New Zealand and Korea, will be Japan, who beat the France 2 - 1 to finish 5th.
The England management must surely take some encouragement from these results. Not only did England come third, but for once they started strong and kept up their performance throughout the tournamnt. Reading's Richard Mantell topped the scoring list for the competition with 10 goals, but another England player, James Tindall, shares with Japan's Takahiko Yamobori the runners up place in the top scorers list with five apeice.
News of the EHL play offs, Girls County Championship (we were there!) and other competitions will appear on this blog tomorrow.
