Who will play the medal games in Paris?
Plus who will surprise and will the PC remain a deciding factor?
In the lead-up to Paris 2024 we asked a few different coaches/players their thoughts about who would play the medal games. In other words who wins their quarter finals when the tournament enters the do or die phase. Also who would surprise these Games and if the PC would still be a deciding factor in Paris?
Let’s listen to :
Adam Commens, former player and coach for Australia at the Games and these days high performance director for Hockey Belgium
Jude Menezes, former goalie for India at the Games and these days head coach for the women from Japan
David Ames, current captain for Great Britain hoping to improve on his silver from the recent Euros to take home gold from Paris
Thomas Briels, former captain of the Belgian men and gold medallist in Tokyo
Nick Budgeon, former player for the men from Australia or Kookaburras
Barry Middleton, legend of the game and former Team GB player who represented his country in 3 Olympic Games
Tim White, former coach of the Australian U21 women and today the assistant coach for the women from Belgium
The men
All agree it will be a unprecedented lineup with some 6 or 7 teams that -on a good day, but without having to rely on a bad day from the opponent - can all beat each other.
Still… it’s the usual suspects that get named for the final four of these Games by most.
The three named by all to reach the semifinals are the Dutch, Belgium and Australia.
Host country France was named by some to be a possible surprise. With their success in the recent past at the junior level and the home advantage they might be the surprise for us.
The women
On the women’s side of things all agree there is just the one clear favourite for gold: the Dutch. If the Dutch don’t win gold, right or wrong, most if not all would declare that a faillure for the team in orange. But… even so, it has been done (Rio 2016) and more recently in a Pro League game the Belgians managed an upset beating the Dutch in their own house. Something that has not happened in a very long time…
Among the experts we spoke to Tim White (assistant coach Belgum) is probably the one with the most experience in women’s hockey internationally and when we asked him about who might surprise he came with China…
The PC
Some think it needs a change, some want to abolish it all together. Most will agree the PC or penalty corner is an iconic and integral part of the game of hockey that sets us apart from other sports. There were times when having a great PC specialist together with a great goalie was enough to be considered a contender. Still today most will mention these two elements as crucial to play for the medals.
But PCD or penalty corner defense has improved immensly these recent years with better first runners and tactical choices. So you will hear many predict a growing importance for playing variations at key moments…
Anyway, let’s listen to the 🏑 experts we talked to ahead of Paris ↓