José Basterra’s memorable hat trick saw Spain stun the Netherlands to reach the men’s World Cup final where they will meet defending champions Germany on Sunday.
Their 4-3 win over the Netherlands stunned the Wagener Stadium hosts and put them through to the final for the first time since 1998.
The game revolved around a run of three Spanish goals while the Dutch had Duco Telgenkamp in the sin-bin, stretching out a 4-1 lead in the final quarter. The Dutch fought back with two corner goals but were left just short in the final reckoning.
Earlier, Koen Bijen’s delightful chip from Telgenkamp’s assist had the Oranje 1-0 up at half-time but a beautiful touch from Basterra levelled the game in Q3.
But once the Dutch lost a player for 10-minutes, Spain took control with Basterra touching in another, Pepe Cunill fired in a corner goal and then Basterra netted a penalty stroke.
Spanish goalkeeper Luis Calzado was named Player of the Match and said afterwards: “When we scored the fourth goal, we knew that the match was not done. We needed to work more to take the path to the final, and I think that we did.
“We made some mistakes that we gave more opportunities to the Netherlands. But I’m really proud for the team, and really proud for me. “
Defending champions Germany booked their place in a second consecutive final with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Argentina. After the drama of the first semi-final, the second was a more cagey.
The first half was scoreless but came to life in Q3 when Justus Weigand added a bouncing deflection to Moritz Ludwig’s shot into the circle in the 33rd minute.
Tournament top scorer Tomi Domene equalised from a corner but the game was decided when Ludwig was again instrumental in the lead-up with Weigand volleying in from close range.
Earlier in Amsterdam, Australia secured fifth place with a 2-0 victory over England in a match interrupted by a thunderstorm at half-time.
In the playoff for seventh place, Belgium edged India 4-3 in a shootout after a dramatic 3-3 draw while Ireland were denied ninth by New Zealand in a 6-3 encounter.
France left it late but beat Japan 3-1 to secure 13th place and Wales finished in 15th place after a shootout victory over Malaysia.
** Picture: Rodrigo Jaramillo/World Sport Pics
