Bhubaneswar: India’s men’s hockey team will play New Zealand in a crossover match at the Kalinga Stadium Sunday. For India, the game is a decider — a victory will take it over the line and give it a coveted spot in the quarter-finals of what’s beginning to look like an electrifying lineup, while a loss will mean India’s run in the world cup is over.
The match against the Black Sticks comes after India’s 4-2 win against Wales Thursday. Although India won that match, it couldn’t put up a Netherlands-like performance, scoring eight goals and conceding none — which it needed, especially in the light of England’s 4-0 victory over Spain Thursday.
For India, the task is formidable — not only is New Zealand a tough team to beat but a victory is also imperative for India, which is currently looking to build on its bronze medal win in the Tokyo Olympics.
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Thursday on-field play—good but not enough
The match comes three days after India’s 4-2 victory against Wales.
Spain and England had managed 5 goals each against a Welsh — or Cymru — side that, in their head coach Daniel Newcombe’s and captain Lewis Prosser’s own words, were initially overawed by the occasion as tournament debutants, making silly mistakes and moving away from their set tactical game plans.
But a very different Cymru took the turf at Kalinga Thursday night, seemingly channelling the “Yma O Hyd (We’re Still Here)” monologue by Michael Sheen, which was primarily intended for their footballing counterparts in Qatar two months ago.
Indeed, India’s nervousness playing the side was apparent, with the team appearing far more frenetic than showing any form of controlled aggression in attack.
Despite employing their signature expansive style to overpower and smother a “lesser” side with waves of attacks as they’ve grown accustomed to under head coach Graham Reid’s tenure, India found it tough to breach Wales’ stout defensive backline and goalkeeper throughout the first quarter, limited to just three goal-scoring opportunities.
But by the third quarter, India, which managed to score early in the second quarter through a penalty corner, looked to have finally gotten into their groove thanks to a brilliant strike from close range by Akashdeep Singh that cannoned in off the right-hand post.
However, committing so many players forward in pursuit of the 8-0 win left plenty of gaps at the back, which Wales predictably exploited. After several inexplicably missed chances in the first two quarters, the Welsh won two penalty corners in quick succession and converted both, briefly pegging back India to 2-2.
India restored its lead almost immediately into the fourth and final quarter, thanks to more individual brilliance from Akashdeep. But by then, it was too late — England had cemented their place at the top of the group with a 4-0 win over Spain and secured a bye into the last eight, leaving India to face a formidable New Zealand Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals against defending champions Belgium.
The off-field reflections
Despite seeming visibly livid on the touchline, Reid did not find the goalless first quarter to be a huge surprise. At the post-match press conference, he asserted that both Spain and England had struggled to rack up goals against Wales in their respective opening quarters too.
In reality, however, England did open the scoring within the first minute of their game — something that India were unable to do.
When asked by ThePrint whether India’s freneticism was a result of tactical nullification by Wales or broader failure to execute pre-existing gameplans, Reid admitted it was a bit of both.
He qualified this by saying that India’s chances of moving forward in the game couldn’t be determined on the basis of its performance against Wales alone.
“Against defensive structures like Wales’, it’s quite common to bump your head against the wall in the first quarter. We created enough chances but didn’t score, which can happen,” he said in answer to ThePrint’s question.
There’s no clear road to the gold medal in the World Cup, he said.
“Every road is different. It’d have been great if we steamrolled (Wales) but that doesn’t always happen,” he said.
Other matches and what’s next
Earlier Thursday, England showed a clinical and organised attack in their 4-0 demolition of Spain, although they rode their luck defensively with a slew of missed chances from the Spaniards.
Spain are the youngest side in the tournament and the inexperience proved to be their downfall — just as it did against India.
Regardless, they still stand a chance to reach the quarter-finals if they beat Malaysia, who won two consecutive exciting matches against Chile and New Zealand to reach the second round.
Among other matches, the Netherlands broke an all-time World Cup record by putting 14 past Chile without reply, but head coach Jeroen Delmee and captain Thierry Brinkman remained reserved about their chances in the press conference as they await their quarter-finals opponents — either Argentina or South Korea.
“Every QF final opponent is difficult. We have to prepare accordingly regardless of the opponent, it’s obviously not going to be another 14-0 game,” Delmee responded to a question by ThePrint about their impending quarter-final clash.
However, it was Friday’s quadruple-header in a game between France and Argentine in Rourkela that could be called one of the best hockey games ever played at this level. That game, which ended in a nail-biting 5-5 draw, nearly matched the FIFA World Cup finals between the two countries in Lusail, Qatar, last month.
On the other hand, Belgium, Australia, and Germany play out more comfortable victories, with the first two topping their respective groups and joining the Netherlands and England in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, much like India, Germany fell short on goal difference and will have to beat France in the second-round crossovers to set up a quarter-final clash with England.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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