Hockey World Cup 2018, Semi-final 1: 3 reasons why Belgium outclassed England

#3 Insipid display by the English forward line

England had zero circle penetrations in the first quarter of the game

England outperformed the reigning Olympic Champions Argentina 3-2 in the quarter-final with a superb display from their forward line. Liam Ansell delivered a Man of the Match performance in that game and was supposed to cause trouble to Belgian defence in the semi-finals.

However, Ansell along with James Gall and David Condon didn’t have a great game as star defender Arthur Van Doren stood tall for Belgium. Van Doren was everywhere in defence for Belgium and didn’t let the attackers a sniff of goal.

England had zero circle penetrations in the first quarter of the game. There were no clear-cut opportunities for the England forward line in the first half of the game.

England began brightly in the second half but their attacking threat was limited to penalty corners which were thwarted away by goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch.

The fact that England had just six circle penetrations throughout the match as compared to 23 for Belgium says a lot about the match.

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