Defeated Ireland finish top of pool at World Cup

Ireland's hockey team finished at the top of Pool H at the FIH World Cup despite a 2-1 loss to France. The team will now compete for a ninth-place finish in the tournament.
Why it matters
Documents the performance of national teams in international sporting events, contributing to global sports rankings.
Ireland were beaten 2-1 by France in their final Pool H outing at the FIH Hockey World Cup, but they still finished top to remain in the hunt for a ninth-place finish.
Having beaten South Africa and Malaysia, Ireland accrued enough points to guarantee a best-ever World Cup finish.
The side will face the winners of Pakistan or New Zealand on Friday to decide on ninth or 10th place.
A largely uneventful first half saw the sides size each other up as both went in search of a chink in their opposition's armor, but chances were few are far between as the sides cancelled each other out.
A breakthrough finally came early in the second half as Jeremy Duncan picked the pocket of Eliot Curty, rounding the French goalkeeper and firing into the bottom corner on his reverse stick from a relatively tight angle.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in