European sides made a great start to the FIH Indoor World Cup in Poreč with wins for Germany, Belgium, Austria and Czechia while the Austrian and Polish women drew on day one.
Overall, 107 goals were score across 12 games which began with Iran edging out Argentina 5-3 to raise the curtain on the event.
Reigning European men’s champions Germany took their time before pulling away from Malaysia – the game was 4-4 with 15 minutes to go but four goals each from Nicolas Proske and Ben Hasbach helped them to a 12-4 win.
In Pool C, Belgium saw off Namibia 7-4 with Philippe Simar putting in a typical star turn while Australia were comfortable 7-2 victors over Trinidad & Tobago.
Pool B, meanwhile, saw Austria’s hunt for a third consecutive World Cup title get off to a good start with their hard-fought 6-2 win over Poland, the Euro silver medalists.
Meanwhile, tournament hosts and debutants Croatia went down 8-6 to South Africa despite Mario Mucić firing them ahead in just the second minute and Lucas Bachmann bagging five goals on the night. South Africa found themselves trailing 1-3 before surging back. Mustapha Cassiem led the charge with four goals as he extended his remarkable 42-match scoring streak while Hans Neethling contributed a hat-trick.
On the women’s side, 2023 runners-up Austria were held to a 1-1 draw by Poland after an incredibly tight game. Elsewhere in their group, Thailand and South Africa drew 4-4.
The Namibian women came from behind for a famous 3-2 win over Australia. The match looked set for a draw before Jivanka Kruger, Namibia’s player of the match, rounded off a series of exquisite passes to fire her team home with a little over two minutes remaining. An ecstatic Kruger warned: “Just watch us for the whole week, we never ever give up.”
In the next pool game it was Germany, the reigning European champions, who were ruthless in dispatching New Zealand 9-1. The Germans are hunting a record-breaking fourth FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup title and five goals from Ines Wanner saw them wrap up the match comfortably.
Hosts Croatia suffered a 7-1 loss in their debut against Belgium, Daphne Gose-Claessens claiming 4 goals in the process. Czechia came from behind to close out the day’s action with an exciting 5-3 win over The United States.
** Wherever you are, find out where you can watch the competition here: https://www.fih.hockey/events/fih-indoor-world-cup-croatia-2025/where-to-watch
