Belgium top the World

The Belgian players rushed to Arthur de Sloover and a swarm of red and black jumped and screamed in ecstasy. They were the world champions. Not yet! The on-field umpire crossed his arms for a timeout. Goalkeeper Prmin Blaak wanted a video referral. The Belgians were shepherded back to the half-line by the umpires. But they still believed they had done it, until, the umpire’s arms spread-eagled. No goal! No World Cup! The platform for the victory ceremony, which was brought in the field by the overzealous staff, was hurriedly taken off.

Would Belgium’s wait for their first major gold get longer? Coach Shane McLeod had that thought in his mind. “It’s been a funny day,” McLeod said. “In the morning, we had talked about destiny, and I had said if the stars would line up, we would be world champions. When that (review) happened, it felt like a sad joke,” he added.

The shootout was still on, and after 2-2, it entered the sudden death stage. The question on everybody’s mind, including McLeod’s, was that would the players be able to refocus. “Obviously, you have that rush of blood, and it’s hard to focus after that,” said McLeod.

After going second in the shootout, it was Belgium’s turn to go first in the sudden death. Florent van Aubel took his place and before the eight seconds were over, he had scored; only for Blaak to challenge again, this time more out of hope than conviction. The goal stood, and the pressure was on Jeroen Hertzberger and Belgian goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch. But Belgian captain Thomas Briels had faith in him. “I knew he would find the focus again,” said Briels. “Vanasch and I had been in the same situation in a club match. But Vanasch had saved the retake as well. So I was confident,” he added.

The 32-year-old Hertzberger, who had scored in the sudden death in the semifinals, had been successful in the regular shootout earlier. Trying to do something different, Hertzberger didn’t go right like his earlier attempt. He turned left, a seemingly unplanned move. Unable to shake off Vanasch, Hertzberger smashed the ball high over the goal.

Belgium were the world champions. This time, no one could take away their first ever World Cup win, and no one could stop the red and black brigade from rushing to their saviour in bright yellow. Vanasch, along with Blaak, was the star of the shootout. For the Dutch, it was another heartbreak. They have now lost three major finals in this decade — at the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 and 2018 World Cups. 

The shootout, in fact, was the savior of an otherwise tepid day. The final day had started with a one-sided contest, Australia hammering England 8-1. All expectations were on the final. But as finals usually go, the contest between Europe’s two most attacking teams didn’t live up to expectations. Both teams were largely safe in their approach, but both defences also must be credited for not giving an inch to the other team. The match had only eight shots on goal and just two penalty corners, both to the Dutch.