Greenshirts optimistic for their next European tournament
After qualifying for the finals of the Four-Nations, which is currently underway at the University College Dublin (UCD) in Dublin, Ireland, Greenshirts are all set for their next destination, Netherlands, where they will be featuring in another Four-Nations
Rabo Hockey Cup, which is to take place in Amsterdam from June 28.
This will be their second stop in their Europe tour that is planned for the team’s preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games ahead. In Rabo Four-Nations hockey tournament, Pakistan will face Holland, Olympic Champions, Germany, and the European Champions,
England.
The tournament will be held for four days in which Pakistan will play the opening match against the host team on Tuesday, June 28. On the other hand, England will play against Germany on the same day.
With a successful and improved performance at the previous 2011 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, held in Malaysia and the Dublin Four-Nations, which is currently underway, Pakistan is all confident to give a good fight to their opponent teams. However, it will be
challenging for the team to perform well in a colder place over the wet turf.
In order to outshine in the Rabo Four-Nations, Pakistan will have to work hard in terms of good penalty-corner executions and stamina building. This is because the European teams have overpowered the rest on the basis of their strong fitness level and strong
penalty-corner conversions.
Therefore, Pakistan will have to prove their competency with the team’s plus point, the forward-line and the drag-flicking expertise, improving both at the individual as well as team level.
According to the Pakistan’s chief coach, Michel Heuvel, the players’ fitness level has boosted as compared to the past and it was obvious in their last international tournaments in Kuala Lumpur at Azlan Cup and the 2010 Asian Games, where they sealed a historic
gold-medal win.
The matches scheduled for the Rabo Four-Nations hockey tournament is given as:
June 28 Netherlands versus Pakistan, Germany versus England
June 29 England versus Pakistan, Netherlands versus Germany
July 1 Germany versus Pakistan, England versus Netherlands
July 2 Third versus Fourth, First versus Second (Final)
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