The women’s semifinal round began with a serious bout of deja vu. The Netherlands opened the day with a 3-0 victory over Argentina in a rematch of the Tokyo gold medal contest, which saw the Netherlands defeat Argentina 3-1 for its third gold in four Olympic competitions.
2024 Paris Olympics women’s field hockey semifinals schedule
Wednesday, Aug. 7
Netherlands vs. Argentina: 8 a.m. ET
Belgium vs. China: 1 p.m. ET
Netherlands vs. Argentina
The scoreboard was knotted at zero through the first period, but reigning gold medalist Netherlands was clearly the superior team from the start, feeding off the energy of an entirely-orange crowd and controlling possession 70% of the time. Argentina struggled to even cross the center line until nine minutes in.
By the start of the second, the dam finally broke. Luna Fokke received a pass sent up the far right side of the pitch and entered the circle, finding herself alone with Argentinian goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino and with the space to chip the ball into the right side of the net. The Oranje found their second five minutes later, as Fokke rifled a pass into the circle that deflected off Lauren Nunnink‘s stick and into the cage.
Yibbi Jansen opened the third with a penalty corner shot that zipped into the goal before Cosentino had a chance to react. With the win, the Dutch are headed to their fifth gold medal game in as many Olympics.
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