In the hockey news, western Australian city of Perth will play host to the final matches of the extended 2020-2021 FIH Pro Hockey League with Australia’s men and women taking on rivals New Zealand in an Oceania derby double header.
Sixteen player squads have been confirmed by Australia and New Zealand for the Tokyo Olympics in Japan, which is just a few weeks away. While these matches may be good practice for the two sides, both will be reluctant to give away too many secrets in terms of tactics or penalty corner routines. However, it promises to be an entertaining set of matches between two ambitious sides looking to make it on the podium in Japan.
One month ago, New Zealand hosted Australia where the visitors won the four match series comfortably. The Kookaburras have won 32 of the last 37 meetings since 2013 and will hope to continue their dominance. Comparatively, the women’s teams have fared much closer contests with Australia having the slight edge thanks to their two time Olympic gold medallist coach Katrina Powell who has claimed 19 victories, 11 defeats and 12 draws against New Zealand.
Here are all the statistics about the upcoming matches.
Australia vs New Zealand (Women & Men)
Where: Perth Hockey Stadium (AUS)
Dates: Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 June 2021
Men’s Matches
Times (UTC +8): Saturday: 12:30 | Sunday: 12:30
Current FIH World Ranking: Australia: 1 | New Zealand: 8
Current FIH Hockey Pro League position: Australia: 5 | New Zealand: 7
Final standings – FIH Hockey Pro League 2019: Australia: 1 | New Zealand: 8
Head-to-heads in all competitions (since 2013 – 37 matches)
Wins: Australia: 32 | New Zealand: 2 | Draws: 3
Goals scored: Australia: 114 | New Zealand: 39
Women’s Matches
Times (UTC +8): Saturday: 15:00 | Sunday: 15:00
Current FIH World Ranking: Australia: 4 | New Zealand: 6
Current FIH Hockey Pro League position: Australia: 6 | New Zealand: 3
Final standings – FIH Hockey Pro League 2019: Australia: 2 | New Zealand: 6
Head-to-heads in all competitions (since 2013 – 42 matches)
Wins: Australia: 19 | New Zealand: 11 | Draws: 12
Goals scored: Australia: 87 | New Zealand: 69
