BHUBANESHWAR: The World Cup wall of fame at the Birsa Munda hockey stadium in Rourkela and the roll of honour at the Kalinga stadium here, is a stark reminder about who the giants of the sport are.
On Friday night, the competition will witness speed, skill, character and mental strength as the four top-ranked teams in the world will take centre stage for slots in the final. The semifinalists — Australia, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium — have backed their reputation with form. It is hardly surprising that between them they have won nine of the previous 14 editions of the tournament.
SIBLING RIVALRY
It wouldn't be out of place to term the battle of the Low Countries as sibling rivalry. After all, Belgium was carved out of the Netherlands in 1830. The latter have been the big brother of the sport, with their dominance in the event dating back to 1973, when they won the trophy as hosts. Belgium, on the other hand, have gone from being the whipping boys to defending champions in less than a decade-and-half. Both teams will be under tremendous pressure. The Red Lions willhope to repeat their winning show from 2018, while Netherlands — who finished runners-up in the previous two editions — will look to go the distance this time.
Belgium are without their key drag-flicker Alexander Hendrickx, but they have enough ammunition to make up for his absence.
"We are all here to win the World Cup and for that to happen, we have to win two more matches. The focus is to first win the tough semifinals," Netherlands skipper Thierry Brinkman said.
In terms of form, Netherlands have been the better side. They kept a clean slate in the pool stages and have scored 27 goals so far while conceding their first goal against Korea in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Belgium drew a match in the pool before topping it and blanked New Zealand 2-0 in the quarterfinals. There is little that separates the two teams, but the deciding factor will be on who handles pressure better.
GERMAN TEST FOR AUSSIES
World No. 1 Australia will be up against a resurgent Germany, the No. 4 team. Against England, Germany had a narrow escape, but Australia have entered their 12th semifinals on the trot on the strength of their resilience which will be hard to crack.
"The team knows how good Germany are. That we are playing the World Cup semifinal is motivation enough," said Australian coach Colin Batch.
Records favour the Kookaburras against the Germans, as they have won seven of their last nine matches and drawn two. Germany haven't beaten Australia since the Champions Trophy semifinal in 2014.
SEMIFINALS: AUSTRALIA VS GERMANY 4.30PM; BELGIUM VS NETHERLANDS, 7PM.
