Junior Hockey World Cup 2025: Netherlands, Spain seal last-eight qualification

The Netherlands and Spain sealed their qualification to the quarterfinals of the FIH Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup 2025 with dominant wins in their final group encounter.

The Jong Oranje took some time to warm their engines before unleashing a burst in the third quarter, which helped them take control and eventually beat Austria 11-0 in their Pool E encounter. In Pool D, four Penalty Corner (PC) goals from Bruno Avila and a top-class playmaking performance from Pere Amat helped the junior Redsticks to a 13-0 humbling of tournament debutant Namibia.

Netherlands cements top spot after goal fest

Austria held firm in its contest against the Dutch as the blazing afternoon began to give way to a cool evening breeze. The side had shipped 13 goals in its previous game against England but managed to keep the Pool E topper at bay thanks to some resolute low-block defence. That meant there were few players stationed up front who could be targets for long balls. Finn van Bijnen broke the deadlock in the 21st minute, turning in a deflection from Jan van ‘t Land. A PC goal from Casper Hafkamp gave them a two-goal lead at the break.

The floodgates opened after half-time as the Dutch side’s possession-based approach wore down the opponent. Four goals came in eight third-quarter minutes to put the result beyond any doubt. Van Bijen added one more before captain Casper van de Veen, who played sparingly in the first half, added three of his own in the final quarter.

“We took some time to get into tempo. You can’t coach a team to play for Goal Difference (GD); you can only coach performance. But I think we could have scored a few more,” said Dutch head coach Jesse Mahieu.

The Netherlands will most likely play Argentina in the quarterfinal (if India beats Switzerland later on Tuesday). Austria will play the 17th-24th classification rounds.

Namibia handed a reality check

In the first game of the day, Avila, the tournament’s current leading scorer, slotted two PCs in quick succession for Spain in the first quarter, and the team never looked back. Namibia struggled to cross the halfway line in its attempts to create a chance. Playing out from the back only resulted in conceding possession to the higher-ranked team and put the side under immediate pressure. Andres Medina’s brace helped Spain go into the half-time break 5-0.

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Interestingly, only the Namibian goalkeeper was on the field when the hooter sounded for the start of the third quarter, before the players came haring back onto the field seconds later. The umpires eventually decided to restart the period. It was more one-way traffic for the rest of the match as Amat sliced open the opposition’s midfield, play after play, to set up chances for his teammates. The No. 8 capped off a fine display with a goal of his own, dribbling into the circle before unleashing a fierce reverse hit into the far end of the goal. Spain ended the game with 58 circle penetrations in reply to Namibia’s one.

“He is our best player, which is why we try to find him during every attack. He is going to play a big part in the rest of the tournament,” skipper Pablo Moran told Sportstar about Amat.

Four goals conceded in the last six minutes sent Namibia’s GD tumbling to -22, putting it out of contention to make the 9th-16th classification matches after Chile beat Oman. Spain will be pitted against New Zealand in the last eight.

Belgium pips England to final-eight spot

Belgium locked in the final spot in the quarterfinal after a 10-0 demolition of Egypt in its final Pool D encounter. The European side knew it had to score big to pip England’s GD to progress as one of the second-best 2nd-placed sides in the league stage.

After a sedate start, the team went all in, substituting its goalkeeper for an extra outfield player as early as the second quarter. Despite the goal gaping in front of them, the Egyptians barely managed to create an opportunity to dent their higher-ranked opponent’s qualification chances. Maximilian Langer led the way with a hat-trick, and captain Lucas Balthazar scored two to take Belgium’s GD to +19.

England entered its contest against Malaysia knowing it needed at least an 8-0 victory to level Belgium’s GD and go through as the side with more goals scored. The opening goal came as early as the fourth minute through Henry Markham.

But a solid Malaysian performance, wherein the midfielders were able to release pressure on the defence with purposeful runs, proved to be a spanner in the works. England’s ploy of substituting the keeper for an outfielder also backfired as the opponent scored a PC to further plunge them into misery amid torrential downpour. After the 3-1 win, the disappointed English will now play the 9th-16th classification round along with their opponent on the night.

Published on Dec 02, 2025