Liam Sanford's England Finish Fourth At Hockey World Cup

Senior Aircraftman Liam Sanford in competition with the Australian opposition. (Picture England Hockey).

RAF airman SAC Liam Sanford's England have finished fourth at the Hockey World Cup after an 8-1 defeat to two-time champions Australia in the competition's bronze medal.

England went behind after eight minutes and found themselves two goals behind just a minute later.

After going into half-time with the score at 3-0, Australia continued their dominance in the second half, scoring three more goals by the 41st minute.

England's consolation was scored by Barry Middleton in the 45th minute, although it was Australia who had the final say, scoring a further two goals finishing up 8-1 winners and securing the bronze medal.

When the two sides met earlier in the tournament, the Aussies came away with the same result, beating England 3-0 in the group stages.

It was a second big defeat in two days for England, after losing 6-0 to Belgium in the semi-finals on Saturday.

The first-time World Cup finalists and Olympic silver medalists Belgium meet the Netherlands in the final later today.

The Netherlands have won the title three times, with their last World Cup win coming in 1998.