Paris — After 13 days of wide open predictions as to who would win the Olympic men’s title, it came down to 15 minutes of counter-punching European heavyweight hockey and a shoot-out which belonged to both goalkeepers.
But it was Pirmin Blaak who stole the show, producing three saves from German sticks while a trio of Dutchmen held their nerve to see the Netherlands claim their first world title, outside of EuroHockey gold, in 24 years courtesy of a 3-1 shoot-out win (1-1 normal time).
For 45 minutes, this wasn’t the European encounter we had been accustomed to over the years.
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Very close game, what happened on the end was not nice but the goalie was a little bit too arrogant before the game, with saying The Dutch were too scared etc, so its a response that you need to take on the chin and move on. Well done Nederland.