Two hockey stars from Holcombe Hockey Club have been named in a squad of 18 for the Argentina Hockey World League Final.
Both Maddie Hinch and Laura Unsworth have been named by England Head Coach Jason Lee in his squad of 18 athletes who will compete from 30 November – 8 December.
The squad contains only one change from that which brought home a European silver medal this summer. After recovering from a thumb injury, which kept her out of the European squad, forward Sophie Bray has been called back into the squad. Surbiton’s Sarah Haycroft is the athlete who misses out on this occasion. After suffering ligament damage to her ankle during the semi-final of the EuroHockey Championships Sally Walton is also named in the squad.
England Head Coach Jason Lee reflected on the summer’s success and the competition for a spot in the final 18: “The squad is largely unchanged from that which competed at the Investec World League Semi Final and the Europeans during the summer where the group performed really well, gaining silvers on both occasions. There is certainly a lot of competition for places from the wider squad so the selection was extremely competitive.”
He added a note of concern, commenting: “A number of the players are coming back from injury so we may have to change the selection in the coming weeks if any start to struggle with form or fitness. The squad have been training very hard over recent months and this bodes well for a great showing in Argentina.”
England Captain Kate Richardson-Walsh added: “We’re looking forward to continuing the momentum we’ve built throughout 2013 and are excited to take on the world’s best at Argentina Hockey World League Final.”
England have been drawn in Pool A, alongside Olympic Champions the Netherlands, European Champions Germany and world number eight side Korea. The Pool will no doubt pose some tough challenges from all teams, but on paper England’s biggest threat will come from the Netherlands. The world number one side will be looking for revenge after the last time they met when England clinched victory in the EuroHockey Championships Semi-Final. Following the victory they met fellow Pool A rivals Germany who they agonisingly lost to in a penalty shoot out in the Final. England’s other opponents, Korea, might be the lowest ranked side in the pool, but after finishing third in their World League Semi Final with a victory over number three side New Zealand they are sure to be no push-over.
In the other Pool, hosts Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and China will battle it out for top spot to ensure a favourable Quarter-Final match against Pool A opponents.
England play in the opening match of the Argentina Hockey World League Final against Korea on 30 November at 12:00 (UK time). All matches will be streamed live on the FIH YouTube Channel. For more information about the World League Final, click here.
Before the Argentina Hockey World League Final, Head Coach Jason Lee will take a relatively inexperienced Great Britain squad out to Germany fromSunday 10 – Wednesday 13 November to play three capped matches. The matches will provide Lee an opportunity to see athletes from the wider training squad, including three from Scotland. The matches will be capped and there will be one press release following the three games. The squad can be seen here, along with the fixtures.
Before the Argentina Hockey World League Final reaches us the excitement is building ahead of the announcement about who will host the Women’s World Cup 2018. England and New Zealand are the two countries in the running and we will find out who’s been successful on Thursday evening at19:30 (UK time).
Argentina Hockey World League Final
The World League Final is a culmination of the International Hockey Federation’s World League tournament which started back in October 2012. Following the completion of round one and two, 16 teams battled it out in the semi-final stage which took place in London and Rotterdam over the summer.
The top four from the Investec World League Semi Final in London – Australia (1st), England (2nd), Argentina (3rd) and China (4th) – will now meet to take on the top four from the Rabobank World League Semi Final in Rotterdam – Germany (1st), Netherlands (2nd), Korea (3rd) and New Zealand (4th).
Argentina Hockey World League Final Pools
|
Pool A |
FIH World Ranking |
Pool B |
FIH World Ranking |
|
Netherlands |
1 |
Argentina |
2 |
|
England |
4 |
New Zealand |
3 |
|
Germany |
5 |
Australia |
6 |
|
Korea |
8 |
China |
7 |
Argentina Hockey World League Final match schedule
| Date/Match # | Info | Time (UK) | Teams | Result | |
| Saturday 30 November | |||||
| 1 | Pool A | 12:00 | ENG – KOR | ||
| 2 | Pool A | 14:30 | NED – GER | ||
| 3 | Pool B | 21:30 | NZL – CHN | ||
| 4 | Pool B | 00:00 (1 Dec) | ARG – AUS | ||
| Sunday 1 December | |||||
| 5 | Pool A | 12:00 | ENG – NED | ||
| 6 | Pool A | 14:30 | GER – KOR | ||
| 7 | Pool B | 21:30 | AUS – CHN | ||
| 8 | Pool B | 00:00 (2 Dec) | NZL – ARG | ||
| Monday 2 December | |||||
|
Rest Day |
|||||
| Tuesday 3 December | |||||
| 9 | Pool A | 12:00 | NED – KOR | ||
| 10 | Pool A | 14:30 | GER – ENG | ||
| 1 | Pool B | 21:30 | AUS – NZL | ||
| 12 | Pool B | 00:00 (4 Dec) | ARG – CHN | ||
| Wednesday 4 December | |||||
|
Rest Day |
|||||
| Thursday 5 December | |||||
| 13 | QF1 | 12:00 | 1A – 4B | ||
| 14 | QF2 | 14:30 | 2A – 3B | ||
| 15 | QF3 | 21:30 | 2B – 3A | ||
| 16 | QF4 | 00:00 (6 Dec) | 1B – 4A | ||
| Friday 6 December | |||||
|
Rest Day |
|||||
| Saturday 7 December | |||||
| 17 | 5 / 8 | 12:00 | LM13 – LM14 | ||
| 18 | 5 / 8 | 14:30 | LM15 – LM16 | ||
| 19 | SF1 | 21:30 | WM13 – WM14 | ||
| 20 | SF2 | 00:00 (8 Dec) | WM15 – WM16 | ||
| Sunday 8 December | |||||
| 21 | 7 / 8 | 12:00 | LM17 – LM18 | ||
| 22 | 5 / 6 | 14:30 | WM17 – WM18 | ||
| 23 | 3 / 4 | 21:30 | LM19 – LM20 | ||
| 24 | Final | 00:00 (9 Dec) | WM19 – WM20 | ||
England Women’s Squad for the Argentina Hockey World League Final, 30 November – 8 December 2014
Name – Current Club – Position
Giselle Ansley – Surbiton – Defender
Ashleigh Ball – Slough – Midfielder
Sophie Bray – MOP (NED) – Forward
Alex Danson – Reading – Forward
Susie Gilbert – Reading – Midfielder
Maddie Hinch – Holcombe – Goalkeeper
Kirsty Mackay – Bowdon Hightown – Goalkeeper
Hannah Macleod – Leicester – Forward
Lily Owsley – University of Birmingham – Forward
Sam Quek – Reading – Defender
Helen Richardson-Walsh – Reading – Midfielder
Susie Townsend – Reading – Midfielder
Georgie Twigg – Surbiton – Midfielder
Laura Unsworth – Holcombe – Defender
Kate Richardson-Walsh – Reading – Defender
Sally Walton – Wakefield* – Defender
Hollie Webb – Surbiton – Defender
Nicola White – Leicester – Forward
Pictures supplied by England Hockey / Ady Kerry.