Another action-packed day of FIH Hockey Pro League matches in Spain and China came to an end with the Belgian and Dutch women extending their unbeaten runs, thanks to confident victories over Germany and England respectively.
In the men’s tournament, England and the Netherlands played to a compelling 2-2 draw before the English secured what could be an important extra point in the resulting shootout.
(Men’s) England 2 – 2 Netherlands (SO: 3 – 1)
England came very close to an outright win in their 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, and produced an outstanding performance to clinch the shootout for a bonus point.
Both teams had real chances in the opening five minutes. And it was Zack Wallace who opened the scoring for England in the 8th minute, dispossessing the Dutch from the centre point and driving all the way to the top of the circle, wrongfooting two scrambling defenders and slamming his shot home. Samuel Hooper doubled the lead from a penalty corner two minutes later, keeping his cool when the stop bounced high and timing his strike beautifully as the ball came back down. The Dutch pulled one back in the 22nd minute when striker Tijmen Reyenga backed off the miss-trap quickly to receive a pass and slapped in low at the far post. Play opened up towards the end of the second quarter with a couple of half chances at both ends, and England went into the break with a narrow 2-1 lead.
The English dictated the pace of the third quarter well, controlling possession and frustrating their opponents. An excellent penalty corner stick save by Visser kept the Dutch in touch, and they started to gain momentum as the clock ticked down. By the final quarter the Dutch were applying intense pressure, and Miles Bukkens equalised from the penalty spot in the 57th minute after a review showed a defender taking a striker down in the circle. The Dutch nearly snatched the win with a late penalty corner, but Thomas Sorsby made a high-quality save on the post to send the match to a shootout where England prevailed.
The player of the match was awarded to England’s James Mazarelo, who said: “We know Holland pose a significant threat, a really good team, a very good pressing team which meant we had to be really on our standards on the ball. And then also defensively, they’ve got a significant attacking threat, so we knew we had to manage our one-v-one battles really well.”
(Women’s) Germany 1 – 3 Belgium
Belgium extended their unbeaten march at the top of the table with a fighting 3-1 win over Germany.
Marien Delphine gave Belgium the perfect start with her 4th-minute opener, driving hard along the baseline to deliver a pass across the goal and then scrambling the ball over the line when the defence failed to clear. The Germans looked more productive though, and Katharin Haid levelled the scores in the 20th minute, somewhat fortuitously from messy play with the ball deflecting horribly off a defender’s stick. Both teams looked a bit frantic as the match progressed and they went to their half-time talks with the score locked on 1-1.
Belgium reclaimed the lead in the 34th minute when Louise Dewaet showed tremendous grit to carry the ball into the circle before finding the gap at the near post. The Belgians found another gear after the goal and went on to control the rest of the match. They created plenty of opportunities before extending their lead, Ambre Ballenghien dispossessing the sweeper on the 23-yard line for Dewaet to complete her brace from the top of the circle. A good double save by Mali Wichmann kept Germany in the hunt, but a failed penalty corner attempt with three minutes remaining ended their slim hopes of a fightback.
Belgium’s Louise Dewaet received the player of the match and said: “I think our fighting spirit was really key. I think we had a little down in the second quarter, but the way we came back at half time was really good.”
(Women’s) England 0 – 3 Netherlands
The Netherlands looked solid in their 3-0 win, and the winning margin could have been much higher but for an outstanding performance from Sabbie Heesh in England’s goal.
The Dutch assumed full control of proceedings from the push back and practically set up camp in English territory for the opening half. The leading goalscorers in the women’s section both grabbed goals in the opening quarter, Yibbi Jansen firing them ahead with her 3rd-minute drag flick, and Frédérique Matla adding one of her own in the 9th. There were plenty more chances in the second quarter, the best falling to Jansen who struck the post with a drag flick, and Joosje Burg who was shut down by Heesh scrambling desperately off her line during open play. Jansen added a drag flick in the 28th for a 3-0 lead at half time.
England enjoyed a positive spell of sustained attack at the start of the third quarter, but they came away empty handed. The Dutch then resumed control and applied most of the pressure through to the final whistle, but there were no further goals in the match with Heesh leading a monumental defensive effort.
Xan de Waard of the Netherlands was named the player of the match and said: “I think it was a tough match. We worked really hard and I think we can do a lot better, but we’ll look at the video and see that”
Current Hero Top Scorers:
Women – Yibbi Jansen (NED) (6 goals)
Men – Alexander Hendrickx (BEL), Tom Boon (BEL), Tomas Domene (ARG), Tijmen Reyenga (NED), Thierry Brinkman (NED) (4 goals)
To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.
FIH Hockey Pro League – 6 February 2026
Estadio Betero, Valencia (ESP)
Men
Result: Match 14 (M)
England 2 - 2 Netherlands (SO: 3 - 1)
Player of the match: James Mazarelo (ENG)
Umpires: Wanri Venter (RSA), Allison Mikelson (USA), Sarah Wilson (SCO-video)
Women
Result: Match 15 (W)
Germany 1 - 3 Belgium
Player of the match: Louise Dewaet (BEL)
Umpires: Alex Miles (CAN), Victoria Pazos (PAR), Ahmed Elsayed (EGY-video)
Yunfu Education Park Hockey Field, Yunfu (CHN)
Women
Result: Match 16 (W)
England 0 - 3 Netherlands
Player of the match: Xan de Waard (NED)
Umpires: Hideki Kinoshita (JPN), Ana Ortega (ESP), Kelly Hudson (NZL-video)
