2022 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup: Germany, Argentina and Netherlands clock up convincing wins; Australia dig deep to beat Japan

The Netherlands defeated Ireland 5-1 while Germany won against Chile 4-1 in Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands. Head coach of Chile, Sergio Vigil, broke down in tears as the squad from the South American nation lined up for their first-ever world cup.

Australia vs Japan

Japan started the opening quarter aggressively, making consecutive runs towards the Australian goal and winning several penalty corners. However, the momentum shifted in the ending minutes as the Australian side won multiple penalty corners but failed to convert. The first quarter ended goallessly. 

The next two quarters went on similarly, and it looked like the match would end up as the tournament's first draw. The Australian side finally got a breakthrough with just five minutes left on the clock as Williams Mariah got the final touch while the ball was with Mai Toriyama in the Japanese circle and slotted the ball into the net to make it 1-0. Rosie Malone doubled the lead just four minutes after receiving a pass from Malone Ambrosia to secure a 2-0 victory for Australia.

Argentina vs Korea

Argentina had an excellent start as Gorzelany Agustina slotted the ball into the net with a penalty corner flick just minutes into the game to make it 1-0. Argentina built on the momentum to dominate the game, but the Japanese held firm to deny the Argentine squad another goal.

The Korean squad launched a counterattack in the second quarter but failed to get past the Argentine defence. Gorzelany Agustina added another for Argentina as she fired an accurate and powerful penalty corner flick into the Japanese goal. Granato Victoria added another two minutes later to make it 3-0 after receiving a pass from Maria Granato.

The Korean squad tightened their defence in the second half. Still, the Argentine side got another breakthrough as Jankunas Julieta slotted the ball into the net from a rebound on the penalty corner to secure a 4-0 victory.

Germany vs Chile

It was an emotional match for Chile despite the 4-1 loss as the Chilean squad was playing their first-ever world cup. They looked moments away from tears rolling down while Chile's national anthem played.

Within the regulation time, Heinz Pauline in the 8th minute, Stapenhorst Charlotte in the 21st and 54th minute and Schröder Anne in the 43rd minute were the goalscorers for Germany. In contrast, Krimerman Losada Denise, in the 26th minute, was the lone goalscorer for Chile.

After the victory, Charlotte Stapenhorst of Germany said, "Chile had a good start. We did not know what to expect of them, so we took a look at them in the first quarter. We had some things to change after halftime. We had some constructive comments and made some changes. They were effective.

Netherlands vs Ireland

Eva de Goede was moved as she made it to the fourth world cup of her career despite being off the field for months due to an injury. It was repeated between the 2018 finalists, Netherlands and Ireland, as the Dutch side dominated possession from the start.

The Dutch squad stayed aggressive throughout the match even though they failed to open the scoring in the first quarter. Malta Frédérique in the 16th and 43rd minute, Jansen Yibbi in the 34th minute, Plonissen Sabine in the 40th minute and Verschoor Maria in the 43rd minute scored for the Netherlands, while Upton Roisin in the 36th minute was the only one to score for Ireland.