Reigning world champions Australia outplayed England 3-0 and Ireland held China to 1-1 draw in respective second Pool-B match of the 14th Hockey Men’s World Cup at Kalinga Hockey Stadium today. The win against England (World Rank 7) was the second straight for Australia and the Kookaburras became the first nation to achieve an automatic qualification for the quarterfinals, topping the pool with six points
China, on the other hand, stayed at the second place in the pool with two draws in a row. Though both Australia and China have one match in hand, the former will finish at the top pool irrespective of the outcome of their last match against China.
England and Australia could not be separated in the first two quarters of their Pool B meeting, with both sides having good chances to break the deadlock. The goalkeepers excelled, with England’s George Pinner making two fine penalty corner blocks to deny the Kookaburras before Tyler Lovell pulled off a miraculous stick save from Mark Gleghorne’s penalty corner drag-flick to deflect the ball over his own crossbar.