Tokyo 2020 Previews: Great Britain v The Netherlands (M+W)

It’s going to be a thrilling day of action for Great Britain with the men and women taking on The Netherlands at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo.

Both will be hoping to book their places in the quarter-finals but come up against tough opponents, with the Dutch women currently unbeaten while their men have won two games in a row.

Men’s preview

When is it?

It’s another early start for our men as they get underway at 04:15 BST on Thursday 29 July

How can I follow?

The game will be streamed on Discovery+ and potentially shown on BBC iPlayer/Red Button as well – we will know more information closer to pushback. You can also keep up-to-date with live text updates on our dedicated Match Centre.

Tokyo 2020 so far

Both teams sit on six points in Pool B, with The Netherlands third in the table and ahead of Great Britain by one place by virtue of goal difference.

They lost 3-1 to Belgium in their opening game before recording wins over South Africa (5-3) and Canada (4-2) in their next games. Great Britain have beaten the same opponents – both 3-1 – before suffering defeat to Germany in their third game.

Olympic history 

The two have previously met seven times at the Olympics, with the Dutch coming out victorious on four occasions and Great Britain twice – they drew in 1996.

They first met at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where The Netherlands won 2-1, while Great Britain recorded their first victory at the Games – and in any hockey since 1972 – at the 1984 LA Games.

Their last meeting was at the London 2012 semi-finals – the Dutch won 9-2 to book their place in the final.

Recent history

The two have met five times this Olympic cycle, with Great Britain recording an impressive 3-1 win in Eindhoven in the 2019 FIH Hockey Pro League. 

Alan Forsyth then scored a dramatic late equaliser to secure a 2-2 draw in London a few weeks later before they met for a third time in a month in the bronze medal game a few weeks later, where the Dutch won a thriller 5-3.

Great Britain’s first games after the Covid-19 pandemic saw them travel to Amstelveen in October 2020 where they suffered 1-0 and 3-1 losses.

Women’s preview

When is it?

The re-run of the Rio 2016 final gets underway at 11:00 BST on Thursday 29 July

How can I follow?

The game will be streamed on Discovery+ and potentially shown on BBC iPlayer/Red Button as well – we will know more information closer to pushback. You can also keep up-to-date with live text updates on our dedicated Match Centre.

Tokyo 2020 so far

The Dutch have already guaranteed their place in the quarter-finals with three victories so far, beating India (5-1), Ireland (4-0) and South Africa (5-0).

Great Britain will provide their toughest opponents so far though, with Mark Hager’s team currently third in the table. The defence of their Olympic title got off to a slow start as they lost 2-1 to Germany despite dominating much of the game. However they’ve followed that up with successive 4-1 victories over South Africa and India to sit third in the group.

Olympic history 

Most memorably, the two last met in the Rio 2016 final where Great Britain overcame the Dutch in a shootout to take the gold medal in front of 10 million people watching at home.

In spite of this, they’ve never beaten The Netherlands in normal time at an Olympics, having drawn three and lost four of their seven meetings so far.

The two first met at the 1988 Olympics while in 1996 the two opened their Olympic campaign with a 1-1 draw, Karen Brown and Mandy Nichols both having recovered from broken bones to play in the game.

Recent history

After their narrow defeat at the 2016 Olympics, the Dutch have hit back strongly in their meetings with Great Britain during this current Olympic cycle.

They won their first meeting 4-0 at the 2018 Champions Trophy before following that up with a 2-0 win at home in the 2019 FIH Hockey Pro League. Two weeks later then they struck in the final two minutes to secure a 1-0 win in London after Giselle Ansley had a stunning flick ruled out.

Great Britain visited Amstelveen in October 2020 and secured an impressive 1-1 draw in the first game despite having nine players unavailable through injury. The Netherlands then won the following game 3-1.

Thank you to The Hockey Museum for their help in sourcing these stats.