2019 FIH Pro League (Men) - 1 February
Weekend fixtures
1 Feb 2019 NZL v BEL (RR) 2 - 2 (shoot out 2 - 4)
2 Feb 2019 15:00 (GMT +10) AUS v NED (RR)
3 Feb 2019 15:00 (GMT +10) AUS v BEL (RR)
Live streaming on https://fih.live (Geo blocked where TV coverage is available)
Pool standings
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Win Draws | Loss Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Britain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 100.0 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 100.0 |
| 3 | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 66.7 |
| 4 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 2 | 33.3 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 1 | 16.7 |
| 6 | Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 6 | Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0.0 |
FIH Match Centre
Thanks to an utterly bizarre decision by the FIH to use "Percentage" as a means of ranking the teams, Belgium are officially ranked third despite having double the points of any other team, however, come the Grand Final "Percentage" drops away for the normal "Points", "Goal Difference" and "Goals For" to take precedence as we have come to expect in every sporting League Worldwide. Here is the FIH explanation for their hideous decision.
"During the Season up until the Grand Final, teams will be ranked in the League table by the percentage of points gained relative to the maximum number possible to have attained at any given time.
For example, a team who have played 6 matches can achieve a maximum of 18 points from winning all 6 matches. If they have achieved 9 points after 6 matches, they will be ranked in the league table based on a score of 50%.
The aim of this system is to more easily illustrate team performances at the times in the season when different teams have played significantly different numbers of matches."
Personally I think this is an insult to Hockey Fans worldwide who I feel are capable of understanding the concept of "Games in hand" when looking at the table and deciding if Belgium have a real advantage or not.