We begin with two countries of the Hispanosphere, Spain and Argentina. Spain has looked really strong this tournament finishing 2nd in their group losing only to Belgium, I'm expecting a lot from them in this game. Their opponents are of course Argentina, an established hockey power who drew with both the Netherlands and Germany in the group stages, however lost to India in a close 2-1. I expect a victory for Argentina in this one, but Spain's performance this Olympics have been nothing less than outstanding, and so this match should be closely contested throughout.
Next comes Belgium vs India. Belgium has looked strong so far this tournament, finishing top of their group with wins over Australia and Spain. However they have been shown to be far from perfect, losing to New Zealand 3-1 in their final match of the group stage. Their opponents are India, a team that has been pretty much equal to their opponents in every game so far. All of India's games have come within 1 goal and have been extremely close, even against Canada whom they drew with. How India will do this game is hard to predict, however it is safe to say this game will be very close and Belgium will need to work hard if they want to move on to the next round.
Julian Turner
Next is the biggest game today, Australia vs the Netherlands. Over the past few years a big rivalry has brewed between these two teams who were both finalist teams at the 2014 World Cup, which saw Australia come out with a convincing 6-1 win over the Netherlands. However the Australian side has faced some difficulties so far this tournament, coming 3rd in group A despite being clear favourites. After facing a 2 game goal drought, the Australians have scored plenty of goals against Britain and Brazil, putting them back on track for this big game against the Netherlands. The Netherlands came 2nd in group B, losing only to Germany in a close 2-1 game which they looked quite strong in. Unfortunately I'm going to have to say the Netherlands are the favourite here, however if Australia can finally rediscover their greatness that has led them to such a clear dominance in international hockey these past few years, we could be in for a real treat.
To finish we have Germany vs New Zealand. New Zealand come into this game of a really big victory over Belgium after having a somewhat mediocre tournament. Unfortunately for New Zealand however, their next test is a whole other beast. Germany are looking like the strongest team this Olympics yet again as they go for a second consecutive Olympic gold medal. Germany came first in their group, winning all but one match and looking strong in the process. I expect an easy win for Germany this match, but after New Zealand's victory against Belgium, we could be in for a huge upset.
Josiah Powell
Who can stop him?
Wyatt Lopez
Hello, where is everyone?
Andrew Watson
>Argentina, an established hockey power
Are we? I thought only girls were good
Brayden Miller
Argentina always makes the semis and came 3rd at the last world cup.
The men's team is pretty good and probably on par with the women's team.
Also you have the best dragflicker in the world, Gonzalo Peillat.
Matthew Lee
why you guys wear a sleeveless jersey?
Luke Sullivan
Tradition, it's the Australian outfit.
Usually New Zealand goes sleeveless as well, but they dogged it and decided not to.
Elijah Adams
Inshallah based India will win
Hunter Bennett
This.
Gavin Walker
can a guy that is +1,90 mts play hockey?
Nathaniel Jenkins
Yes, off the top of my head I know there's Billy Bakker on the Dutch team who is 190cm.
You just may need a bigger stick, although I'm 188cm and use a 36.5" stick which is pretty small for my height.