Field hockey World Cup kicks off in The Hague

The Rabobank Hockey World Cup will start today in The Hague. At 10.30 a.m., the men's teams of Australia and Malaysia will get the ball rolling, followed by five more games, both men and women's teams. 

The Dutch field hockey players did a practice run for the World Cup in The Hague on Friday. Oranje beat South Africa in the ADO stadium with 6-0, in the practice game that has two 20 minute halves.

Today, the Netherlands female team is the first up. Coach Max Caldas' team will play against Japan at 7.45 p.m. Paul van Ass's men will play their first game against Argentina on Sunday at 4 p.m.

The Dutch women's team have won the Cup six times already (1974,1978,1983,1986,1990 and 2006). They are currently dominating the world ranking list, and are in pool A with Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Belgium and Japan. Their first opponent, Japan, is 9th on the world ranking list.

Argentina, who the Oranje men are first up against on Sunday, are 11th on the ranking list and have never won a World Cup medallion. The Netherlands, currently 3rd on the ranking list, is in pool B with Germany, New Zealand, Korea, Argentina and South Africa. Oranje has won the cup three times (1973,1990 and 1998).

The full schedule can be found on the official Rabobank Hockey World Cup website.