Hockey World Cup | Gonzalo Peillat sends Germany to final with sensational hat-trick
The Hindu
Germany recorded their first entry into the final after the 2010 edition in New Delhi, where they had finished runners-up.
Star drag-flicker Gonzalo Peillat struck a second-half hat-trick as Germany made a sensational comeback after being two goals down to beat Australia 4-3 and enter the FIH Men's World Cup final for the fifth time in Bhubaneswar on January 27, 2023.
Peillat scored from penalty corners in the 43rd, 52nd and 59th minutes, while 'Player of the Match' Niklas Wellen (60th) struck with just a few seconds left in the game to stun Australia, who squandered a 2-0 half-time lead in the semi-final at the Kalinga Stadium.
Jeremy Hayward (12th), Nathan Ephraums (27th) and Blake Govers (58th) scored for Australia, who will now play for the bronze medal on Sunday.
This was Germany's second comeback win after being 0-2 down against England as well in the quarter-final match. They had scored twice in the last three minutes to equalise and then beat England in penalty shootout to enter the semi-finals.
Two-time champions Germany recorded their first entry into the final after the 2010 edition in New Delhi, where they had finished runners-up. They had won the silver medal in 1982 as well before winning the titles in 2002 and 2006.
Germany also took revenge for their 1-3 loss to Australia in the Tokyo Olympics semi-finals.
For three-time champions Australia, this was their second consecutive failure to enter the final. They had lost to the Netherlands at the same stage in 2018, finishing with a bronze after consecutive titles in 2010 and 2014.