Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27 -- Defending champions Belgium made it to the final of the FIH Odisha Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 after edging out Netherlands 3-2 via penalty shoot-out in the keenly-contested second semifinal match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

The match ended 2-2 in regulation time. In the ensuing penalty shoot-out Belgium scraped past Netherlands 3-2

The Red Lions will meet Germany in the all-important final on Sunday.

There was not much to differentiate between both teams. While the first quarter belonged to the Netherlands, the Red Lions dominated in the second quarter.

Netherlands earned three penalty corners in seventh, 10th, and 11th minutes. Jip Janssen converted the last one to give the Oranjes 0-1 le...