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The FIH Hockey World Cup 2018 being held at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar is turning into an extremely interesting affair.
For the first time, every team in the tournament has an equal chance towards the World Cup, be it the defending champions Australia, or even France, who is technically the lowest ranked team as per the FIH rankings.
With the end of the final leg of crossovers, Belgium and Netherlands have made it to the quarterfinals.
However, none had anticipated the way in which Belgium would proceed to the final eight. Their rivals were Pakistan, one of the most popular field hockey teams after India, and the most successful team in the history of the FIH World Cup.
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Despite being a shadow of their glorious past, the team, under the able guidance of their coach Rehan Butt and their legendary manager, ex Asian cum Olympic champion Hasan Sardar, Pakistan had managed to proceed to the crossover stage.
However, as they met Belgium for the crossover match, little did they anticipate the humiliation that the Red Lions, who are the Olympic silver medalists from Rio 2016, would dole out on them.
Right from the word go, Belgium had a sole objective in their mind: enter the quarterfinals in style.
From the word go, the Belgians played as if there was no tomorrow. Exploiting every chance that came their way, the Belgian team opened their account in the very first quarter, when penalty corner specialist Alexander Hendrickx scored on a penalty corner in the 10th minute.
From there, there was no looking back, as the Red Lions outfoxed the Pakistani players at every point. By the time the final whistle blared in the stadium, the score read 5-0. Belgium had just not defeated Pakistan, they had whacked them out of the competition. Following are the 5 talking points from the match.
#5 Belgium exploit chances well within the first quarter
Going by their play, it looks like Belgium has taken up the mantle of displaying classic European hockey from the word go.
On the attacking mode from the first whistle itself, Belgium exploited every chance that came to them.
Needless to say, they smelt success in the very first quarter, when a penalty corner was awarded to Belgium in the 10th minute.
Alexander Hendrickxx, who made sure that Belgium at least got an easier draw in the crossover round, made no mistake as he capitalized on the penalty corner to give Belgium a crucial lead of 1-0.
Anyone who followed this match closely should've known that with this very goal, the writing was officially on the wall.
Whatever followed suite was just a confirmation of who was going to enter the quarterfinals. For the next three quarters, the question wasn't if Belgium would manage to go through the crossovers, but by how much.
#4 The Red Lions leave nothing to chance
The first goal by the penalty corner specialist Alexander Hendrickx gave the much-needed boost to the Red Lions.
From there, the attackers came into the forefront. By the time the first half had got over, the score was 3-0, and a lion's share of the credit should go to the Belgian attack line.
Right after the goal by Hendrickx, Belgium intensified the attack on the Pakistani side. In the next 20 minutes, the Belgians dominated the entire field, scoring two goals in quick succession.
While Nicolas De Kerpel scored in the 13th minute itself, star player Tom Boon, one of the key people behind the shocking entry of Belgium in the finals of Rio Olympics 2016, opened his account in the 27th minute, extending the lead for Belgium to 3-0.
The rest two quarters got two additional goals, as Pakistan had completely given them up, and by the end of the match, Belgium took its tally to 5-0.
#3 Vincent Vanasch stands solid as a rock
Apart from the penalty corner specialists of Belgium, and the attacking forwards, if there was one person who deserves an applause for helping Belgium sail through the crossovers, it was once again the goalkeeper: Vincent Vanasch.
Having had a wobbly opening quarter against South Africa, Vincent Vanasch was far from it when he played against Pakistan.
Not only did he saved crucial penalty corners from Pakistan, but he also stood solid as a rock even against their circle penetrations. For the Pakistani goal shots, the less said the better.
To give one an idea, Pakistan made 16 circle entries throughout the match, of which more than 11 were made in the second and third quarter.
However, if none of them found the goalpost, it is solely due to the Belgian defence, led primarily by the goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch.
As Belgium faces Germany in the quarterfinals, the Red Lions will be heavily reliant on the charisma of their goalkeeper, who has more than once taken them out of trouble.
#2 Pakistan squander their chances rather badly
One wouldn't be disappointed as much with Pakistan's loss as they would be disappointed by their drubbing. No one had expected such a humiliating loss for the Pakistani side as they suffered against Belgium tonight.
Completely at loss for words or wits after the first goal, Pakistan couldn't actually make a comeback against Belgium.
Despite making 16 circle entries, with 11 of them during the second and third quarter, Pakistan could only manage three shots at the goal, none of which actually found the goalpost.
Even earning three penalty corners was of no use, as Pakistan went clueless on the same as well, completely in contrast to the terror they struck in the past as the penalty corner specialists during the early 80s and 90s.
To make matters worse, Pakistan suffered for showing over aggression as well. Touseeq Arshad and Umar Bhutta were shown green cards in the 14th and 28th minute respectively, while the captain Ammad Butt was shown the yellow card in the 51st minute respectively.
#1 Belgium faces Germany as Pakistan drops back to 12th position
With Belgium winning this match hands down, they shall now face the European powerhouses Germany. It shall be a classic display for European hockey at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.
On the other hand, this is the second time that Pakistan has failed to make the cut into the top 10 of the Men's Hockey World Cup.
Going by the statistics, Pakistan is at the 12th position in the FIH World Cup, their worst performance since the New Delhi edition of 2010, when they finished at the same position.
However, Pakistan can have some solace, as this 12th position is clearly not as humiliating as that of 2010.
In the 2010 edition held at New Delhi, Pakistan had finished last in the 12 teams that participated in the World Cup, while here, Pakistan finished 12th out of 16 teams.
Given how Pakistan even failed to qualify for the 2014 edition, this is still a lot better for the Pakistani team.
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