The Dutch men’s hockey team have missed out on a home World Cup final, losing their semi-final to Spain in Amstelveen on Friday, the day before the Dutch women play for the title.
Spain, coached by the former Netherlands manager Max Caldas, won 4-3 at the Wagener Stadium.
The game turned in the final quarter, with the score at 1-1, when striker Duco Telgenkamp was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for pushing a Spanish defender to the ground.
With Telgenkamp off the pitch, Spain scored three times to go 4-1 ahead, José Basterra completing a hat-trick. Jip Janssen and Joep de Mol pulled two goals back late on, but Spain held the lead.
The result ended the Dutch men’s hopes of a first world title since 1998. They will play Argentina for bronze on Sunday in Wavre, Belgium, where Spain will meet defending champions Germany in the final.
The Dutch women, meanwhile, reached the final with a 1-0 win over Belgium and will face Argentina at the Wagener Stadium at 4pm on Saturday. Victory would give them a fourth successive world title, a feat no country has achieved.
