Hockey World Cup Day 8 - Match 3: Belgium vs Japan 7-1

With a draw in the previous game against Germany, Belgium needed a big win against Japan to try and seal their spot at the top of Pool B and earn direct qualification to the quarterfinals, and a first half hat trick by Tom Boon gave them a 4-goal lead by the end of first half, and increased their goal difference to +9, with another 30 minutes to further extend their lead over Germany, who had a +3 goal difference with one game to go in the final match of the day against Korea. 

Japan had a much better start to the second half, keeping Belgium out in the 3rd quarter and scoring their first of the game early in the 4th. But Belgium had a much better finish to the game scoring thrice in the final 10 minutes, including 2 more goals for Tom Boon, to win with a 6 goal margin and bump their overall goal difference to +11. 

Tom Boon who became only the 4th ever player to score 5 goals in a World Cup game, was awarded player of the match and said: “I think after scoring no goals in the first quarter, it’s good to get 7 goals and a +6 goal difference in the final 3 quarters. Looking forward to playing in the knockouts going forward.”