Goa, Aug. 30 -- Spain reached their first FIH Hockey World Cup final since 1998 with a dramatic 4-3 victory over hosts the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Despite trailing to an early Koen Bijen goal, Spain took total control in the second half. A 10-minute yellow card for Dutch forward Duco Telgenkamp proved to be the turning point, allowing Spain to unleash a rapid scoring burst. Jose Basterra completed a brilliant hat-trick alongside a penalty-corner conversion from Pepe Cunill to build a 4-1 lead. Late goals from Jip Janssen and Joep de Mol brought the Netherlands close, but Player of the Match Luis Calzado made vital saves to secure Spain's historic win.

In the other semi-final, defending champions Germany kept their title defense alive w...