5 hat-tricks on final day of pool play as Australia and Belgium seal quarterfinal spots 

FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 brought the conclusion of the group stage action from Pool A and Pool B, as Australia and Belgium topped their groups, booking their quarterfinals spots, while Argentina, France, Germany and Korea now move on to the crossovers. 

Incredibly, all 4 games saw at least one player score a hat-trick, with the second game between France and Argentina producing two, as Blake Govers (AUS), Victor Charlet (FRA), Nicolas della Torre (ARG), Tom Boon (BEL) and Niklas Wellen (GER) all scored at least thrice for their teams! A total of 38 goals were scored across the 4 games on the day, for a whopping average of 9.5 goals per game! 

In the opening game of the day, Australian attack showed out in the first half going into the break up 7-1 to put the result beyond much doubt. South Africa gave a better account of themselves in the second half but Australia still ran out comfortable winners with a 9-2 final scoreline. Argentina and France then played in an absolute thriller that included 2 goals scored by the teams in the final 53 seconds! The game ended 5-5 which kept Argentina above France in the final pool standings, as both teams head into the crossovers. 

In Pool B, Belgium handled their business first registering an impressive 7-1 win over Japan, with star striker Tom Boon opening his account in the World Cup with a 5-goal performance, taking Belgium’s goal difference to +11. Germany faced Korea in the final encounter, needing to win by 9 goals to overtake Belgium in the Pool B standings and earn direct entry into the quarterfinals, but an impressive 7-2 was not enough as they join Korea in heading to the crossovers from Pool B.