The Rare Sight of Formidable Germany Being Handed Three Heavy Defeats by Belgium in Pro League!

It’s not a ‘regular sight’ to see the Germany men’s hockey team being subjected to heavy defeats on the world hockey stage – the Honamas carries a rich history in the sport and are considered the ‘who’s who’ of world hockey over many decades – they have won the Olympics on four occasions, won three World Cups and bagged the EuroHockey Championship crown on eight occasions. And to see the black-and-white jersey outfit being handed a heavy defeat can be an ‘unpleasant surprise’ for hockey lovers across the globe.

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The FIH Pro League was one stage where Germany faced the ignominy in front of their home crowd at the Gerd-Wellen Stadium in Krefeld on June 12, 2019 – in a ridiculously lop-sided, Germany were inflicted a 8-0 hammering by Belgium much to the disappointment of the home crowd. It was the inaugural edition of the FIH Pro League, where the opening quarter was goalless but the Red Lions struck thrice in ten minutes to hold a 3-0 half-time lead before pumping in four goals in the final quarter to close out a facile win – ace drag-flicker Alexander Hendrickxx, Sebastian Dockier, and Cedric Charler scored a brace each in the German demolition job under lights at Krefeld.

The German home crowd had one more occasion to be disappointed when they went down 1-6 to Belgium on September 22, 2020 at Dusseldorf in the second edition of the Pro League. Belgium endured a goalless opening quarter and held a slender 1-0 half-time lead before they subsequently slipped into fifth gear slamming five goals in the second goals amidst a German solace goal to pull off a fabulous victory. Alexander Hendrickxx again led goal-scoring with another brace.

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The Red Lions carved out a third big win over Germany in the third edition of the Pro League when they pulverized their opponents 6-1 – the only difference this time around was that this one-sided win came in front of their home crowd in Brussels on October 16, 2021. Nicolas De Kerpel led from the front scoring a brace as Belgium overcame a goalless first quarter to score twice in the second quarter and added four more in the second half to cap off a splendid win against the Kais Al Saadi-coached European powerhouse.

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Seldom we do Germany men’s hockey team lose by big margins in international matches – in fact, we are used to witnessing Germany inflicting heavy defeats on their opponents over time. Belgium happened to be the side that orchestrated three heavy defeats something not many sides have been able to accomplish on the world hockey stage.