New Zealand secure first place in World Cup hockey qualifier: England outgun Pakistan for third position

New Zealand secured first place in the final of the qualifiers, beating South Korea by four goals to one in a fast and action packed match at Changzhou (China) on Sunday, according to information made available by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
In a way, both teams were pretty happy to play open hockey, so there were tries galore on the citadel.
By halftime the Kiwi's had taken complete control of the match by forging to a rousing 3-0 advantage , a performance which was built on fantastic team play, especially for two of their goals.
Nonetheless, there was some consolation for South Korea as Jong Ho Seo was named 'Player-of-the-Tournament' at the conclusion of the game.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan took on England in the play-off for the third and fourth place. But it was England that emerged victorious by a debilitating, three goals to one scoreline.
The two outfits played an entertaining style of hockey, with play moving freely from end-to-end similarly to the final, but it was England's ability to convert their chances and create more chances throughout the second half that turned out to be the difference.
After their success in Changzhou New Zealand, Korea, England, Pakistan and France can now look forward to the challenges that lie ahead in Monchengladbach, where the other top hockey nations of Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, Germany, India and South Africa await in the battle to become World Champions.
Sunday the last day of the men's World Cup Qualifier, started with England and Pakistan meeting in the match for bronze, Pakistan without their captain Muhammad Saqlain who was suspended for the last match after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament on Saturday.
The teams put on an open, free-flowing and fast-paced match that was rather entertaining, especially as the second half wore on, despite the small number of goals scored.
England were the slightly better team for the entire match but had trouble making use of their chances. Pakistan on the other hand had few chances, but always kept the pressure up, forcing the English to keep up the tension for the entire 70 minutes.
The scoring was opened relatively late in the match, when James Tindall fired a quick shot from the top of the circle that Pakistan goalkeeper Salman Akbar could reach but not prevent from going into the net. The teams thus went into halftime at 1-0 to England, England deservedly leading in a tight match.
When the second half got on the way, England still had the better chances, and 17 minutes into the second half, they extended their lead to two goals when Simon Mantell capitalised on a good pass from Glenn Kirkham with a shot high into the net.
Pakistan little later got one back, as Mudassar Khan slotted home a low ball into the right corner of the goal, but Pakistan could get no closer to turning this match around. They had a few chances, but England had more and better opportunities, and with 5 minutes to go, they put one on top of their lead when they were awarded a penalty stroke, and Richard Mantell converted for his tenth goal in the tournament, which will in all likelihood give him an undisputed topscorer title.
England are thus awarded the bronze medal in this tournament, while before-the-event favourites Pakistan finish a disappointing fourth, and will need to markedly improve their performance over the one in this tournament if they want to be title contenders in the World Cup later this year.
ENGLAND 3 PAKISTAN 1
GOALS: England - James Tindall FG 34m, Simon Mantell FG 47m, Richard Mantell PS 65m, Pakistan - Mudassar Ali Khan FG 49m.
Japan 2 beat France 1
GOALS: Japan - Kazuyuki Ozawa FG 27m FG 57m, France - Thomas Raisin FG 43m
JAPAN CELEBRATE: Japan are on their way to Germany after clinching the fifth and final place from the World Cup Qualifiers beating France 2-1.
The match was riddled with errors and played at a slow tempo compared to other matches during the tournament, perhaps as both teams suffered with nerves, but that wouldn't bother the Japanese as they came out on top.
Japan celebrated by dancing and cheering to their supporters from the main pitch and then went onto the second pitch to continue celebrating their amazing achievement. France left the ground devastated knowing they had two cracks at qualification against Japan; once earlier in the week when they could have made the semi finals with a win, and today.