Preview: Indian hockey team chief coach Harendra Singh on Sunday said they have to win the match against Canada to create a chance to enter the quarterfinal in the Men’s Hockey World Cup. “My players have to play with the mindset to enter the quarterfinal. Forget about these two matches. The next match is going to decide whether you are going to play quarterfinal or crossover,” said Singh. Both Belgium and India have won one match each in the pool C while both managed to draw the Sunday match. India will play their next match against Canada on December 8. Belgium will play against South Africa on the same day. Praising his players’ fitness and drive in the last two quarters, he said they have to continue being ruthless against opponents on the turf in their next games. He said his team drew their energy in the second half from a buoyant crowd at the Kalinga Stadium, which allowed them to overwhelm Belgium and earn a point. Varun Kumar, who was awarded the Man of the Match award for his incisive passing and for earning the vital penalty stroke in the 3rd quarter, said it was the turning point of the game. With inputs from IANS
India vs Canada, Hockey World Cup 2018, Match Highlights: Manpreet Singh and Co qualify to quarter-final after 5-1 victory
Catch the Live score and updates from the Hockey World Cup 2018 Pool C match between India and Canada
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That’s all we have from here. A superb day for the Indian hockey team as they make it to the quarter-final of the World Cup with a phenomenal 5-1 win against Canada. The team was not playing a great game till the end of the third quarter, but in the final 15 minutes, they turned the game around by scoring four goals.
An important victory considering the momentum generated going into the quarters.
That’s all from us, we will be back again for the quarter-finals. Goodbye, folks!
Here are the goal-scorers for both the teams:
Here are the match stats:
INDIA 5-1 CANADA
It’s all over! What a win for India! Manpreet Singh and Co turned it around in the final quarter to score four goals. They finish on top of their Pool and are through to the quarter-final of the World Cup.
INDIA 5-1 CANADA
GOAAAL! India are hammering their opponents! A great run by Sumit on the right and Lalit scores his second goal of the night.
India are definitely through to the quarters.
INDIA 4-1 CANADA
Wow, what a quarter for India! Amit Rohidas, the Odisha boy with a terrific penalty corner to make it four goals for the home team.
INDIA 3-1 CANADA
Yet another goal for India! Lalit this time with the goal. Withing a span of two minutes, India double their lead.
INDIA 2-1 CANADA
GOAAAAAL! A superb strike from Chinglensana as India take the lead in the match. This is just the start the home team needed in the final quarter!
INDIA 1-1 CANADA
And that’s the end of the third quarter!
INDIA 1-1 CANADA
What. A, Chance. Mandeep Singh does well with the run, but the pass to Lalit is not up to the mark.
INDIA 1-1 CANADA
GOAL! A superb play from Canada and Floris van Son equalises for his team. Indian defence caught napping there.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
India doing well with the long ball strategy, but Canada’s defence doing equally good. They are still in the match because of their defenders.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
The third quarter is underway at the Kalinga Stadium.
Here are the second quarter stats:
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
End of the second quarter. Harmanpreet Singh’s goal separates both sides and as it stands, India are making to quarter-final.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
Nicely done by Simranjeet to give it to Akashdeep, but his shot is saved by Canada’s goalkeeper. Less than four minutes left in the second quarter.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
Chance for India! Sumit with the reverse hit, but Canada’s goalkeeper comes up with a decent save.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
Belgium have picked up the momentum in the second quarter, but India’s defence is doing food to check the attack.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
The second quarter is underway. India will look to maintain the intensity and take significant lead before the break.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
That’s the end of the first quarter. Harmanpreet Singh’s goal from penalty corner is the difference between both the teams.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
Yet another penalty corner but this time India couldn’t convert the chance. They rather made a mess of it, but it was also good work by Canada.
INDIA 1-0 CANADA
GOAAAAL! Harmanpreet Singh with a perfect penalty corner to give India the lead in the match.
INDIA 0-0 CANADA
Harmanpreet Singh takes the shot but Canada’s defensive work is spot on and the danger is averted.
INDIA 0-0 CANADA
Nicely done and now India have their first penalty corner of the match.
INDIA 0-0 CANADA
Bright start by India. No significant chances yet but they have showed intent right from the first minute.
INDIA 0-0 CANADA
The national anthems are done and the match is underway at the Kalinga Stadium.
That’s the line-up!
Here’s India XI
Harmanpreet Singh, Kothajit Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, PR Sreejesh, Nilakanta Sharma, Chinglensana Singh, Varun Kumar.
The other match in Pool C was between Belgium and South Africa. The European nation have won their match 5-1 and now their goal difference is same as India – 5.
The equaltion is simple for India. They have to win the match to qualify directly to quarter-final.
Here’s what India coach Harender Singh said before the match:
“The team is in a better position in terms of goal average compared to Belgium. So, there is no need to think more on that. Let’s see how Belgium is performing, We got five days break after the match against Belgium. While we concentrated on fitness, we also got time to study the opponent team.”
Words of wisdom!
Here’s the Head to Head record:
Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of the Hockey World Cup 2018 Pool C match between India and Canada. Manpreet Singh and Co will look to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament and qualify directly to quarter-final. Canada, who are ranked 11 in the world, will aim to cause problems to the hosts as they would hope to make it to the crossover match after the group stage.
Stay tuned for more updates!