England took on Germany in the first of the day's semi-finals and came off second best, losing by 4-1, though the German coach at the press conference said that the result did not reflect the game, it being much harder than the score line suggested.England started slowly as usual and conceded a penalty corner after just five minutes. Germany made the most of it when Jan-Marco Monag hit it low to James Fair's right. Fair got a touch to it but could not stop it going in.
A good run by Ashley Jackson into the circle gave England hope but he was dispossessed before he could shoot. And a moment later they thought they had scored through Alistair Brogdon but the goal was disallowed for obstruction. Instead it was Germany who added to their lead when a ball through the middle split the defence and Oliver Korn was on hand to dive in and make it 2-0.
Half-way through the first half England won their first penalty corner and up stepped Richard Smith to fire the ball home. Germany won their second corner of the game but Fair made a great save, keeping out the rebound shot in a very athletic way. Their third corner shortly after was put wide. With three minutes to go to half time it was Germany who earned yet another corner, and a well rehearsed routine saw Martin Haner fire it into the top of the net to make it 3-1.
England came out in the second half full of fight. They had an early chance but the turn and shot by Jackson was well saved by the keeper. And a short while later German captain Maximilian Muller was forced to clear the ball when a dangerous cross came in from the right. However England were finding it hard to break free from the man-to-man marking of the Germans. James Tindall did find a loose ball but his reverse shot from the top of the circle was too high to trouble the German keeper.
As England pressed forward they left even more gaps in defence. With ten minutes to go the Germans earned their first penalty corner of the half and, whilst that was saved by Fair, a second corner was put in on the rebound by Linus Butt to make it 4-1 and put the game out of reach of England.
Following the second semi-final England will now play The Netherlands in the bronze medal match on Saturday. Regardless of the result England can be proud of their result here. The highest finish since they lost to Australia at Willesden in 1986, not having finished higher than fifth at any other World Cup.
In the second semi-final of the day Australia took on The Netherlands. The stadium had filled up a bit more, mostly in a sea of orange. Still the crowd was a bit sparse, which was a pity for the players, especially those that had played in the group B with India when the crowds were large and noisy. Most people expected Australia to win this encounter and make it the third successive final against Germany. Win they did though it took a reaction save from the Australian keeper right at the death to save it going into extra time.
Australia pushed forward from the start and had several chances, with Guus Vogels making several fine saves. It was Ronald Brouwer, though, who had a great chance when a cross was not stopped by an Australian defender but he failed to connect with the ball. End to end play with Australia probably shading it. The Netherlands won the first penalty corner of the match with ten minutes to go, but with Taekema not on the pitch the ball went to Robert van der Horst and his shot was saved by the keeper. Two minutes later Australia had their first penalty corner and up stepped the leading goal scorer, Luke Doerner, to finally beat Vogels. The Dutch won another penalty corner but they failed to stop the ball coming out and were unable to get a shot on goal.
The game was very cautious in the second half with Australia again shading the chances. Fifteen minutes from time and the Dutch failed to clear their circle and Glenn Turner was on hand to make it 2-0. Game over? Two minutes later and a Dutch corner was stopped illegally on the line and Taekema converted the penalty stroke. They continued to press forward and had a chance right at the death to equalise, but it was not to be.
In a very dull match Canada played Pakistan for 11/12th place. Although Pakistan took the lead after just four minutes through Rehan Butt, Canada drew level through Connor Grimes. Into the second half and Akhtar Ali put Pakistan in front once more, but Mark Pearson made it level once more with just over ten minutes to go. 2-2 at the final whistle and golden goal extra time into play. No score at half time but with two minutes to go a penalty corner for Canada was finally converted by Scott Tupper to relegate Pakistan to the wooden spoon.
Following this loss, the Pakistan Selection Committee and Team Management was dissolved by the President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation. The Pakistan Hockey Team also announced the retirement from international hockey of all its 18 players following the poor performance of the team in the World Cup.
Summary of today's scores:
11th/12th place: Canada 3 Pakistan 2 AET
Semi Final: Germany 4 England 1
Semi Final: Australia 2 Netherlands 1
