- Men's hockey loses the Olympics
The German men's hockey team had to settle for silver after a bitter final loss at the Olympic Games in Paris. The world champion team lost to European champion Netherlands 1:3 (1:1, 0:0) in a penalty shootout and couldn't complete their gold mission as desired. Twelve years after their last Olympic victory in London, the team of the German Hockey Federation had set out to triumph in France again.
Even without the hoped-for gold, the tournament ended successfully for the team of coach André Henning in the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in the northwest of Paris, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz watching. After the disappointment of finishing fourth three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, they finally won an Olympic medal again, their first since 2016.
In the northwest of Paris, Thierry Brinkman (46th minute) put the Netherlands ahead, but Thies Prinz (50th) quickly equalized. In the penalty shootout, captain Brinkman, Thijs van Dam, and Duco Telgenkamp sealed the victory for Oranje. Justus Weigand scored for Germany.
Germany had won against the Netherlands in the preliminary round.
The eighth Olympic final for a German men's team started cautiously on both sides. It wasn't until the 10th minute that Germany, thanks to a sharp pass from Christopher Rühr, came close to scoring, but couldn't capitalize. The Dutch also struggled to create good chances in the first quarter, instead focusing on maintaining a solid defense.
The German team had often managed this en route to the final. They had qualified for the knockout round as group winners with four wins from five games, conceding few goals. Their quarterfinal win against Argentina and semifinal win against India were both dramatic, with scores of 3:2. The Dutch, meanwhile, had an easier time in their semifinal against Spain (4:0), but had already lost 0:1 to Germany in the preliminary round.
Chancellor Scholz took his seat on the halfway line at the start of the second quarter. The SPD politician was making his first visit to the hockey tournament at the Paris Olympics and was seated among the VIPs, protected by his bodyguards. He watched as the Dutch gradually gained more possession, but Germany earned the first penalty corner. Neither team managed to score before the break.
The second half started slowly. Thousands of Dutch fans in the stands cheered on the reigning European champions, and they had reason to celebrate shortly after the start of the final quarter. A small mistake in the German defense allowed Brinkman to score the opening goal, but goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg made a spectacular save to prevent the second. Almost immediately, Prinz scored the equalizer from a penalty corner with a powerful shot.
Despite the heartbreaking penalty shootout loss, the Silver medalist German men's hockey team still celebrated their success, marking their first Olympic medal since 2016 in Paris. Previously, they had faced the Netherlands in the preliminary round and emerged victorious, but the final outcome was different, with the Dutch securing the gold medal.
