The Black Sticks men have taken an early exit from the Hockey World Cup after their loss to England in the first knockout round.
New Zealand were beaten 2-0 in crossover play by England this morning at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India, meaning they finish the tournament with one win, one draw and two losses.
Will Calnan put the Black Sticks behind in the 25th minute when he found the back of the net before Luke Taylor sealed the game with a penalty just before the end of the third period.
Despite some great saves from Richard Joyce, England controlled the game from start to finish with 16 circle entries to five, four penalty corners to one and out-shooting the Black Sticks eight to five.
The loss continues a tough trend for the men's team at World Cups, having never finished higher than seventh (1973, 1975, 1982 and 2014) and even failing to qualify for four of the 14 events (1971, 1978, 1990, 1994).
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