Hockey World Cup 2018: Germany vs Pakistan - 3 Standout Players from the match
Despite their best efforts, a resurgent Pakistan side could not prevent Germany from eking out a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Although there was no barrage of goals like in the previous match between Netherlands and Malaysia, the second encounter of Pool D turned into an engrossing contest.
Also Read: Hockey World Cup 2018 - 3 Reasons why Netherlands won against Malaysia
Brushing aside all preconceived pre-tournament expectations from various quarters, Pakistan came up with a creditable performance against the sixth-ranked German team. Although the Green Shirts' defence managed to deliver the goods, their strikers missed out on golden opportunities to seal the game.
Marco Miltkau's 36rd minute field goal proved to be the difference between the two teams in what was an absorbingly tight encounter. Here are three standout players from Germany's 1-0 triumph over Pakistan at the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
#3 Imran Butt
Unarguably, Imran Butt is one of the best goal-keepers in Pakistan's hockey history. During these last six years or so, he has been the saving grace for his team on numerous occasions. The custodian did a sterling job against Germany's well-oiled attackers.
With Pakistan's defence tightening up and making life difficult for the Germans, Imran Butt produced impressive saves whenever the shots were on target. His anticipation to cut out dangerous crosses came to the fore in the first quarter. Christopher Rühr's sharp cross did not bear fruit for Germany due to the Pakistan goal-keeper's awareness.
Butt continued to rally the Pakistan defenders by delivering instructions from under the bar. His sole blemish came when Marco Miltkau found space and lifted the ball past him into the back of the net.