Harpal Singh Bedi / Bhubaneswar
Having chalked out contrasting style first round victories India and Belgium are set to lock horn in the pool C match of the 14th Hockey World cup at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on Sunday which will decide about the topper and direct qualifier into the quarter finals.
India thrashed South Africa 5-0while World number 3 Belgium struggled to beat Canada 2-1 in their opening matches.
“Tomorrow is a new match, for us Belgium is a new team” Indian coach Harendra Singh told media person here this afternoon
“Belgium is a good team since last 4-5 years, plus with good circle penetration as per modern hockey.Their trap is good and they play vertical hockey, don’t give parallel or back pass. But the Indian team has set a trademark of attacking hockey since last 4-5 months. We won’t compromise on that but have to take care of the midfield area.”
.@HarendraSingh66 explains how the Indian crowds give his team a boost and wants his players to exploit their home-ground advantage at all their matches.#IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey pic.twitter.com/g4tytblhsI
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) December 1, 2018
Further elaborating he said the moment “ you drop your training methods, your methods in matches will also drop. Team in a driving seat can play the way they want. We will not allow the opponents to dominate. We will keep playing at a high speed. Whoever can sustain that will win (tomorrow).
“If you become defensive after conceding a goal, the crowd also goes silent. But if you keep attacking, the crowd remains energetic. To stay in the game, we have to play attacking hockey. If your shoulders drop, you lose crowd support and momentum”
“We are not relieved (after opening win against South Africa). If you have to go (straight) to the quarterfinals, then tomorrow’s match is a PR quarterfinal. We have discussed accordingly, one match at a time. “ Harendra said
Any past unforced errors, if a player can reduce that, it helps the graph of the team. Forced errors can lead to mistakes. But in modern hockey, a team works on improving unforced errors.
Striker Akashdeep Singh, who impressed every body while playing as mid fielder against South Africa, said he was enjoying his new role. ” . I am giving equal importance to converting opportunities.
Belgium coach Shane McLoed said the game against India is a “must-win” for them if they want to top the pool and avoid cross-overs.
“We have got the three points (against Canada). We may not have the goal difference we wanted so the game against India becomes a must-win game for us,” he said.
“The game against India would demand us to take a step or a couple of steps up otherwise we can’t be competitive. “
Meanwhile in the other Pool C match of the day, Canada will play South Africa.