Ireland open World Cup campaign with defeat to Netherlands

Chastening enough scoreline for Ireland in front of crowd of 9,000 in Amsterdam

By Mary Hannigan


Netherlands Laurien Leurink fights for the ball with Ireland Eelena Tice during the match between the Netherlands and Ireland at the Hockey World Cup. Photograph: Sander Koning ANP/AFP via Getty

Four years after their World Cup odyssey in London ended in defeat to the Netherlands in the final, Ireland opened their 2022 campaign by losing to the same opposition in front of a crowd of 9,000 in Amsterdam on Saturday, the Dutch starting their quest for a third World Cup in a row with a 5-1 victory.