Australia and Netherlands win 2014 Hockey World Cup

June 16, 2014

In at, ,  defeated the Netherlands to win the  yesterday, and was defeated by the Netherlands in the  on Saturday. Never before have the same two countries played in both Hockey World Cup finals in a single year.

In the men's final, the, known as the Kookaburras and coached by , successfully defended the World Cup they won back in 2010 with a 6–1 win over the , which was playing in its first final since 1998.

The Netherlands put the Kookaburras on the back foot when scored the first goal. In five consecutive games in the series the Australians had scored their first goal in the first seven minutes. Australia's equalised with a goal from a. Another goal by gave the Kookaburras a 2–1 lead at the half time break. Four more goals in the second half, including one by 321-game veteran, put the result beyond doubt.

The story was very different in the women's competition, where the, known as the Hockeyroos, were the underdogs, having not made a final in the World Cup or the since 2006. They made this final only after defeating the in a semi-final  after a 2–2 draw in which the teams alternated goals, each Australian goal followed by a US goal by. Whereas, the Netherlands team had scored 21 goals in the tournament up to this point, while only conceding one, and had not been beaten by Australia since 1998.

Netherlands captain scored the first goal of the match from a, giving the Netherlands team their seventh Hockey World Cup win. then made it 2–0. Neither side was able to score in the second half, but it was not for want of trying, and Australian goal keeper ended up with a total of eight saves.

defeated the United States 2–1 in the women's bronze medal game.