Germany becomes Hockey World Champion for the third time: Beats Belgium 5-4 in penalty shootout; Netherlands won bronze

Germany has won the Hockey World Cup 2023 title. The team defeated Belgium in a penalty shootout in the final played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. After 60 minutes, both the teams were tied at 3-3. However, Germany won the match 5–4 in the shootout.

Before the final, a third place match was played between Netherlands and Australia. The Netherlands won the bronze medal by winning the match 3–1.

Belgium took an early lead
Belgium’s Van Aubel Florent gave the team an early lead in the 9th minute of the start of the match. In the 10th minute, Cosinus Tangay scored a goal to give Belgium a 2-0 lead. Germany’s Wellen Niklas scored a goal in the 28th minute of the second quarter to make the score line 2-1.

Comeback in the third quarter
Germany made a comeback in the third quarter, scoring two goals in the 40th and 47th minutes. Pilat Gonzalo and Grambus Mats scored the goals for Germany. After the score line was 3-2, Belgium’s Boon Tom scored in the 58th minute of the last quarter. After this goal, there were no more goals in the match and the match ended in a draw with a score line of 3-3.

Thrilling penalty shootout
After the match was drawn, the match was decided by a penalty shootout. The score line was a 3-3 draw after the opening 5 shots. Took 2 more shots to get the result. Germany scored from the first opportunity, while Belgium missed the opportunity. Belgium scored on the second chance, but Germany also scored on the second chance to win the final.

Germany became champion for the third time
The German team has become the world champion for the third time. At the same time, Belgium could not defend its title. Germany won the trophy for the first time in 2002. The team has now won the title for the third time in 2023 after successfully defending its title in 2006. Germany was the runner-up in 2010.