England have qualified for the World Cup in Monchengladbach in September, thanks to a Matt Daly goal in the first four minutes of play against Belgium in their final pool match. England now replace Belgium at the top of their pool in the World Cup qualifiers in Changzhou and automatically qualify by virtue of finishing in the first two. Second in the pool are Pakistan, who suffered a surprising setback, being held 2-2 by outsiders Ireland. Belgium now slip from top to third, and will have to play the third placed team in Pool B to secure the remaining ticket to Germany in September.
England’s next match in Changzhou will be against the second place team in Pool B on Friday. Pool B is proving to be very competitive and, with matches outstanding, potential opponents include France, Korea, New Zealand and Japan.
