Róisín Upton’s time at the Olympics is over. On Saturday, Ireland fell 2-0 to Great Britain while India defeated South Africa to claim fourth place in Pool A and with it, a spot in the knockout round. Upton started and picked up a yellow card in the match.
It’s a disappointing finish to Ireland’s first Olympic field hockey appearance after making a run to the World Cup final in 2018. They started off with a 2-0 victory over South Africa — in which Upton made history by scoring Ireland’s first Olympic field hockey goal — before four consecutive losses to Netherlands, Germany, India and Great Britain.
Upton is only 27, so she should continue being a stalwart for Ireland as they set their eyes on qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Pieper and Germany fall to Netherlands in heavyweight battle
Though Cecile Pieper’s Germany squad had already clinched their spot in the knockout round, they had a chance to win Pool A against the Netherlands in the group stage finale. But Germany proved no match for the No. 1 team in the world as the Oranje claimed a 3-1 victory.
Pieper started for Germany but did not record any statistics. Netherlands jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Germany responded with a goal in the second quarter. Despite the thin margin, the German team just couldn’t find the equalizer before the Netherlands sealed it with a third goal in the 56th minute.
Germany will take on Argentina in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. Argentina finished third in Pool B with three wins and two losses. If Germany advances, they will face the winner of Australia-India.
Giffey, Germany fall to Australia
In their final group stage game, Germany fell to Australia 89-76. Niels Giffey scored 11 points to go with four rebounds.
With the loss, Germany drops to third place in Group B with a 1-2 record but will advance through to the knockout stage as one of the two third-place teams to get through. While they’re currently tied with the Czech Republic in Group A with four points in three games and Argentina and Japan both have two points in two games in Group B (two points are awarded for a win, one for a loss), Germany has the best point differential at -16, which serves as the first tiebreaker.
Even if Argentina or Japan win their final game and have a better point differential, Germany is still guaranteed the second-best point differential.
Looking ahead
Aaliyah Edwards, Kia Nurse and Canada look to wrap up group play with a win against Spain at 9 p.m. EST on Saturday. Meanwhile, Gavin Edwards and Japan will try to secure the final third place advancement when they take on Argentina at 12:40 a.m. EST on Sunday.