Hockey crime ends with a ranking and German silver.
The Men's Hockey National Team Wins Olympic Silver. In a dramatic shoot-out after regular time, the Netherlands decides the final in Paris for themselves. The Germans are stopped just short of their big goal. Afterwards, it gets ugly.
First, the German men's hockey team lost gold, then the Olympic champions from the Netherlands lost their nerve. After winning the penalty shootout, Dutch goal scorer Duco Telgenkamp provoked German goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg by putting his index finger over his mouth, and Niklas Wellens got into a scuffle with several Dutch players. Before the final against their arch-rivals, Danneberg had claimed, "The Dutch are really scared."
In the end, the Dutch celebrated a 3:1 (1:1, 0:0) victory in the penalty shootout against the German world champions in the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in the northwest of Paris, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz watching. Twelve years after their last Olympic victory in London, the German Hockey Federation's team had set out to triumph in France again. After the disappointment of finishing fourth three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, they finally won a medal again.
"This was an incredibly strong game from us on many levels," said head coach André Henning. "Despite being a goal down, we came back to equalize. We're usually very strong in penalty shootouts, but we didn't bring our qualities today. The Netherlands was simply better."
Germany Decides Preliminary Round in Their Favor
In the northwest of Paris, Thierry Brinkman (46th minute) put the Netherlands ahead, and Thies Prinz (50th) quickly equalized. In the penalty shootout, captain Brinkman, Thijs van Dam, and Telgenkamp secured the victory for Oranje. Justus Weigand scored for Germany.
The overall eighth Olympic final for a German men's team started cautiously on both sides. It wasn't until the 10th minute that Germany came close to scoring with a sharp pass from Christopher Rühr, but they couldn't capitalize. The Dutch also struggled to create good chances in the first quarter. Instead, both teams focused on standing compact and secure.
The German team had achieved this well on their way to the final. They qualified for the knockout round as the first-placed team in their group with four wins from five matches, conceding few goals. In the quarter-finals against Argentina and the semi-finals against India (both 3:2), it was dramatic. The Dutch had an easier time against Spain in the semi-finals (4:0), but they had already lost 0:1 to Germany in the preliminary round.
"Holland" Fans in the Majority
At the start of the second quarter, Scholz took his seat on the halfway line. The SPD politician made his first stop at the Paris Games for hockey and was protected by his bodyguards on the tribune among the VIP guests. The chancellor watched as the Dutch gradually gained more possession of the ball, but Germany earned the first penalty corner. None of the attempts resulted in a goal by the break.
The second half started slowly. Thousands of Dutch fans on the tribunes cheered on the European champions with "Holland" chants - and they had reason to celebrate soon after the start of the final quarter. A small mistake in defense allowed Brinkman to score the 1:0, but goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg made a brilliant save to prevent the second goal. Almost immediately, Prinz scored the equalizer with a powerful shot from a penalty corner.
In the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, the Dutch men's hockey team emerged victorious in a tense penalty shootout against Germany, securing their silver medal. Despite Germany's strong performance in the preliminary round and reaching the final after several dramatic matches, the Dutch had a significant fan base at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, evident in their joyous "Holland" chants throughout the game.
