First game starts Jan 13 as IRL Women take on world ranked #4 Belgium
Ireland’s International Hockey Men and Women are now in Valencia ahead of the start of their Olympic Qualifications. With games starting Jan 13, this is the last chance for both sides to qualify for the Paris Olympics this summer.
IRELAND WOMEN’S TEAM
Katie Mullan, Ireland Women’s Captain
In the women’s competition, Ireland (World Ranked #13) are drawn in Pool A alongside Belgium (#4) whom they play on January 13th (start time is 5.30PM IRL). Also in the pool are Ukraine (#28) and Korea (#12).
Belgium are the highest ranked team in the pool, currently placed 4th in the world rankings. Their performances over the past year in the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup and the FIH Hockey Pro League have been outstanding, which makes them the favourites to progress out of the pool.
Korea and Ireland are neck-and-neck in the world rankings in12th and 13th positions respectively, and the head-to-head matchup between the two sides might end up being crucial in deciding who qualifies for the semi-finals.
Ukraine’s star has been on the rise in international hockey over the past couple of years and it’ll come as no surprise to see them get the better of their higher ranked opponents and finish in the top-2 positions in Pool A.
A second placed group finish is essential to proceed further and then a further win in the knockout stages either in the semi-final (both finalists qualify automatically for Paris) or a win in the 3rd place play off will be required to get to the Olympic Games themselves in the summer.
The Belgians present a real challenge for the Irish as they are one of the strongest teams in the World who have not already qualified for the Summer Olympic games. Their key players include captain Barbara Mallen, Astrid Bonami, Stephanie Van Den Boore, Charlotte Engelbert and goalkeeper Aisling De Hooghe who has played at two World Cups and FIH Pro League.
The matches are available to view on TNT Sports and also online on watch.hockey and for fans based in Northern Ireland BBCNI Sport i-Player will have coverage online.
IRELAND MEN’S TEAM
Sean Murray, Ireland Men’s Captain
In the men’s competition, Ireland (World Ranked #13) are drawn in Pool A alongside Ukraine (#28), Belgium (#2) and Japan (#15). They open their campaign against Ukraine on Sunday January 14th at 7:45pm IRL.
Ukraine are familiar opposition to Ireland as they played each other twice at last summer’s B Europeans, facing each other once in the pool stage and also in the finals at the Sport Ireland Campus last July. On both occasions Ireland won.
As we know from that tournament, Ukraine tend to start tournaments slowly and improve as the tournament wears on. So, to have Ukraine in the first match is probably ideal.
A second placed group finish is essential to proceed further and then a further win in the knockout stages either in the semi-final (both finalists qualify automatically for Paris) or a win in the 3rd place play off will be required to get to the Olympic Games themselves in the summer.
Ukraine’s standout players from the B European’s last summer included drag flicker Viacheslav Paziuk, Andrii Koshelenko, Maksym Onofiiuk, Oleksii Popov, and Oleksandr Boiko (who scored in the final match against Ireland.)
The matches are available to view on TNT Sports and also online on watch.hockey and for fans based in Northern Ireland BBCNI Sport i -Player will have coverage online.