Hockey World Cup 2018: 3 Reasons why Netherlands won against Malaysia

Three-time Champions Netherlands began their campaign in the 2018 Hockey World Cup on an astonishing note.

Riding on the imperious confidence of their attacking midfielders and forwards, the Dutch hammered Malaysia by a remarkable 7-0 margin at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

The opening encounter in Pool D turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Netherlands imposed their will on a feeble Malaysian outfit.

Goals from Jeroen Hertzberger, Mirco Pruijser, Mink van der Weerden, Robbert Kemperman and Thierry Brinkman propelled the Dutch to a tone-setting 7-0 triumph.

Here are three reasons why the Netherlands proved to be too strong for Malaysia.

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#3 Fast-paced hockey exposes Malaysian defence

Malaysia's strength lies in their ability to surprise the opposition's defence with sharp counter-attacks.

With the Dutch retaining possession for the vast majority of the encounter, the Tigers' midfielders appeared bereft of ideas.

The Netherlands arrived into the match with a definite strategy. Realising Roelant Oltmans' familiarity with their strengths and weaknesses, they nonchalantly increased their intensity and attacked relentlessly right from the start.

Such a fast-paced style of hockey has always been a quagmire for Asian teams. This match was no exception.

Malaysia's defenders were left scrambling while trying to read the Dutch attackers. Even their experienced players seemed shell-shocked at the back line. It was only a matter of time before the desperation at the back trickled over to scoring chances.

Instead of taking on a rare penalty corner himself, Razie Rahim's bizarre decision to flick the ball to Firhan Ashaari gave a glimpse of Malaysia's rattled mindset at the early stages of the game.

#2 Fluid positioning and pin-point passing

Mirco Pruijser showcased his superior acumen with some exemplary passes

The world-class nature of Dutch hockey stems from their intrinsic ability to stitch together significant passes almost at will.

They gave another exhilarating display of synchronized and speedy passing to the ardent hockey fans at the Kalinga Stadium.

Robbert Kemperman fed a clean ball to Jeroen Hertzberger who duly began the spree of goals.

Thierry Brinkman soon got involved and started to orchestrate a slew of deft passes along with Hertzberger and Mirco Pruijser. The trio's perfect positioning and remarkable game-play made them unstoppable.

An example of Netherlands' otherworldly skills were on display when Pruijser delayed his pass in order to confound the Malaysian defence. Such acute attention to detail ensured that they had scoring opportunities on a regular basis.

#1 Hertzberger's brilliance beats Kumar's resilience

Kumar Subramaniam was weakened by the ineptitude of the Malaysian defenders

One of the all-time greats of Malaysian Hockey, Kumar Subramaniam has been instrumental behind the team's impressive string of performances in recent times.

With the Tigers placed in the most difficult group in the World Cup, the experienced goalkeeper has become even more crucial to their cause. This time around, he was rendered helpless by the persistent Jeroen Hertzberger.

Having run rings around the Malaysian defence, Hertzberger and the Dutch attackers fired one shot after another on target from close ranges.

The 29-year old's distinct awareness at getting into promising positions meant that Kumar really had no chance under the bar.

The rapid pace at which Hertzberger operated aggravated Kumar's woes. With the Malaysian backline floundering at the first sight of offence, all he had to do was to push their veteran goal-keeper to the brink. The Rotterdam star did exactly that by scoring three field goals.

Head to Sportskeeda to check out the Hockey World Cup schedule for the upcoming matches