Hosts Netherlands registered their second successive win with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Pakistan to go on top of the table while Olympic champions Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Belgium in the men’s Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Breda on Tuesday.
Netherlands, who had suffered a 1-2 reversal against Argentina in their tournament opener, have made a strong comeback as they thumped Belgium 6-1 in the second league encounter and then dominated bottom-placed Pakistan through out.
The hosts scored two goals in the both the second and fourth quarters, with Robbert Kemperman and Valentin Verga giving them a 2-0 advantage before half time. Thijs van Dam and Mirco Pruijser then added two more to complete the scoreline.
The win also put the Dutch on top of the standings, above India on goal difference but they have played a game more. The Indians, who defeated Pakistan and Argentina before a well-deserved two-day break, will take on Australia on Wednesday and can reclaim the top spot with a win or even a draw.
In the day’s other match, Belgium’s Amaury Keusters second half goal cancelled out Gonzalo Peillat’s early penalty corner goal to hold Argentina to a draw.
However, the result was not enough for the Belgians to stay in contention for the final as they have only two points from three matches and are current fifth in the standing. Only the top two teams qualify for the final.