Dutch korfball players have extended their world title by force majeure. In the World Cup final, host nation Taiwan was left with no chance by a score of 27-9. It was already the eleventh world title for the Dutch team.
The Netherlands trailed 1-0 but then scored four points in a row. At half time the score was already 16-5 for the team of national coach Jan Nebek. After the stoppage, the Dutch team scored five goals in a row and the rest had to wait until time expired.
After the final whistle, the Dutch players met and celebrated together in the sold-out hall in Taiwan. There were also quite a few Orange fans among the spectators.
Olav van Wijngaarden and Fleur Hoek each scored five points in the final. Harjan Fischer scored four points, while Ran Faber, Dan Preuninger and Zita Schroeder each scored three points.
The Dutch national team, which has only achieved major victories in Taiwan, has been world champion every time since 1991. The World Cup is held every four years. The Netherlands will be the host country in 2028.
Taiwan surprisingly beat Belgium in the semi-finals. Then it became 21-19. The Belgians recovered and took the bronze medal. For the past eleven World Championships, since the first edition in 1978, the final has always been between the Netherlands and Belgium. Only in 1991, the team took the silver medal, behind then world champion Belgium. This is the first silver medal for Taiwan after three consecutive bronze medals (2011, 2015 and 2019).
“After a fairly difficult start, we had a great first half. We missed some shots, created a lot of ourselves and had an attack rate of over 50 percent,” Nebek said. “Then you are 16-5 up at halftime and the game is played.” Match already. In the second half, you see that it is difficult for us to maintain our calm, but we remained the better team throughout the match.”
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