The EuroHockey Championships 2024 was off to a start as the Netherlands shocked the defending champions Germany in a 3-2 win. The match was played at the Wagener Stadium, Amstelveen, which is one of the most famous venues for field hockey across Europe and the game was as good as expected from the Europeans.

Germany entered the tournament as the favourites and they began on a bright note and went ahead in the 7th minute with a field goal by Christopher Rühr. The home side came into the game and showed their intentions when Jorrit Croon equalized for the Dutch in the 15th minute, which caused a lot of furore in the stadium.

The second quarter was characterized by a good fight from both sides as they created chances at their respective ends. Lukas Windfeder, the German team’s penalty corner specialist equalized for the team through a drag-flick in the 23 rd minute. But the Netherlands proved their fighting spirits as they equalized again before the half time break through another fine effort of Thierry Brinkman.

Second half was the testimony of the fact that Netherlands has gained an upper hand in the match. They dominated the ball and had numerous opportunities to score and the German defense was under siege throughout the encounter. The decisive moment was in the 52nd minute when Jip Janssen scored a penalty corner and made the score 3-2 in favour of the hosts.

In the remaining part of the match, Germany sought to equalizer in the trench and even the Dutch resorted to a kicking back in the last five minutes, the Dutch defense line was solid. A few important saves by the Dutch goal keeper Pirmin Blaak helped the Netherlands to pull of an important victory against the German side.

This has left the fate of Group A very much open with Germany now needing to struggle to reach the semifinals. The Netherlands, for their part, have place themselves in a good stead to finish at the top of the group and get a good side of the draw in the knockout stages.

The Dutch coach Jeroen Delmee expressed his joy with the performance of his team but at the same time urged the players not to be overconfident. He said in the post-match interview after the match, “It’s a good start, this is only the beginning, we must continue this way if we are to clinch the tournament. ”

The EuroHockey Championships go on the next day with some thrilling matches lined up for the day such as the match between England and Spain as well as between Belgium and France. Judging from the first match the standard of play in the European hockey is high and hockey lovers all over the world should prepare for more action as the best teams in Europe fight for the championship.