WAVRE: Australia defeated Ireland 3-1 in the Pool C match of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 at the Belfius Hockey Arena on Sunday.
Australia’s Joel Rintala scored twice, while Blake Govers added another from a penalty corner to give his side a commanding 3-0 lead.
Ireland tried to make a comeback after the interval as Ali Empey scored. However, the Australian goalkeeper Ash Thomas denied several chances to keep his side ahead.
The opening goal of the match came from Rintala’s stick, with the ball going past Irish goalkeeper Jamie Carr.
Rintala scored his second to send the World No.3 side into the half-time with a three-goal lead.
Ireland made an impressive comeback in the second half by adopting a higher press. As a result, Luke Witherow forced Thomas into an impressive save before Empey converted a rebound from a penalty corner to give Ireland a glimmer of hope.
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Nonetheless, Thomas made three saves in front of his net with less than three minutes remaining as the final blew.
In the other Pool C fixture, Spain defeated South Africa by 3-1 to kickstart their World Cup campaign.
The Redsticks piled pressure right from the onset, by scoring twice in the first half. Forward Marc Reyne opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Jose Basterra doubled the lead a minute later.
Spain completely dominated the match, as Basterra scored again at the end of the second quarter to make it 3-0.
For South Africa, their only goal came from Mustapha Cassiem in the third quarter.
Eventually, Spain secured a comprehensive 3-1 victory.
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