Hockey World Cup 2023: India aims for gigantic win over Wales for direct quarterfinals berth
Hockey World Cup 2023: India will face Wales in its final Group D match in Bhubaneshwar on Thursday. The hosts would aim for a huge win, allowing them to qualify directly for the quarterfinals.
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FollowAn unbeaten India will seek to address its penalty-corner woes to post a big win against bottom-placed debutants Wales in their final pool match and qualify directly for the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup quarterfinals at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Thursday. India and England are on four points each after two matches, with the latter ahead on goal difference -- plus five as against the hosts' plus two. India, though, will have the advantage of knowing what to do before its match, as it plays after England's game against Spain on Thursday. If England loses or draws against Spain, there will be no headache for India, as it just needs to beat Wales by any margin to top Pool D -- considered the group of death -- and qualify directly for the quarterfinals.
India must defeat Wales by at least five goals if England beats Spain. The number of goals India needs to score will keep increasing depending on England's victory margin. If two teams are on equal points and have the same number of wins, the rankings in the pool stage are decided based on goal difference.
In any case, India will not be knocked out of the tournament, as it will finish second if it beats Wales -- a task it is expected to accomplish. If India finishes second in Pool D, it will play the third-place team in Pool C, which could be either New Zealand or Malaysia in the 'crossover' round.
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India had beaten Spain 2-0 before drawing England 0-0. Both matches were played at the new Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela. It will play at the Kalinga Stadium for the first time in this HWC. The winning team in the four pools qualifies directly for the quarterfinals. The second and third-placed finishers in each pool will feature in crossover matches. A second-place finisher of a group will play a third-place side of another pool, and the winning team will face a pool topper in the quarterfinals.
If India tops Pool D and qualifies directly for the quarterfinals, it will play one match less, which may keep it fresh for the last-eight stage. "If we top our pool, we will play one match less, which will be good for us. We will try to play our best and our normal game and execute our plans," said midfielder Manpreet Singh, who led India to a historic bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The main concern for India is its rate of penalty-corner conversion. It has got nine penalty corners so far but has yet to score even once from them directly, though Amit Rohidas found the target against Spain after captain Harmanpreet Singh's drag-flick rebounded off an opponent's stick. Drag-flicker Harmanpreet has been the country's top scorer in almost all tournaments in recent times, including the historic bronze-winning campaign in the Tokyo Olympics. Still, he has struggled to find the target in this showpiece event.
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It will be easier for India to win considerably if Harmanpreet starts firing, as his side is expected to get penalty corners in plenty against Wales. "I hope to start scoring goals from penalty corners in the next match," Harmanpreet had said after the England match. India must also convert field chances, as it missed several scoring opportunities against England.
"Missed opportunities and we next [against Wales] have to try and do better inside the opposition circle," head coach Graham Reid said. India was also dealt a blow after midfielder Hardik Singh injured his hamstring towards the end of the England match. He will be an unlikely starter in Thursday's game against Wales, though he is expected to recover in time for the quarterfinal or the crossover stage.
No doubt, Hardik will be missed, but his absence is unlikely to affect India's chances against Wales, ranked 14th in the world as against the hosts' fifth as per the latest rankings. The likes of Vivek Sagar Prasad can fill in for Hardik. On the other hand, Wales will play for pride, as it has virtually no chance of progressing to the next stage following two heavy losses against England (0-5) and Spain (1-5). Even if it beats India, which is highly unlikely, and Spain defeats England, Wales might not make it to the crossovers, as it has a goal difference of minus nine.
Squads
India: Abhishek, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (c), Lalit Upadhyay, Krishan Pathak (gk), Nilam Sanjeep Xess, PR Sreejesh (gk), Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Varun Kumar, Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas (vc), Vivek Sagar Prasad and Sukhjeet Singh.
Wales: Rupert Shipperley (c), Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, Rhys Payne, Gareth Furlong, Daniel Kyriakides, Hywel Jones, Ioan Wall, Steve Kelly, Lewis Prosser, Dale Hutchinson, Jacob Draper, Gareth Griffiths, Rhys Bradshaw, Fred Newbold, Ben Francis, Luke Hawker, James Carson and Jack Pritchard.
Match details
Date and day: January 19, 2023 (Thursday)
Venue: Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar
Time: 7.00 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports Select 2 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
(With inputs from PTI)
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