IND 1-4 GER highlights, FIH Junior World Cup semifinal: Wasteful India goes down as Germany books ticket to final

Germany beats India 4-1 to qualify for FIH Junior World Cup final. It will face either France or Spain in the summit clash. 

Florian Sperling scores Germany’s fourth on the rebound and that is the match done and dusted. The Germans have displayed some clinical hockey here and it will surely make its way in the final. 

Christian Franz is the latest player to get a green card for stopping play. 

13 penalty corners for the Indians and they still cannot find a way through the German defence. This is not a stat one gets to see everyday. 

Boby gets a green card as he takes too much time to take the penalty corner. 

Jan Cordes could have buried the game as he took a shot from the edge of the circle. The ball deflects off an Indian stick and Germany will have a long corner. 

An early German attack in the fourth-quarter and Florian Sperling could have made it 4-1 but he cannot convert from close distance. 

Germany leads 3-1 as the last quarter is underway. It is now or never for the Indians. 

Paul Glander’s goal and a Ben Hasbach brace keeps Germany in a 3-1 lead against India. 

India: 11 penalty corners with 0 conversions

Germany: 2 penalty corners with 2 conversions

That has clearly been the point of difference in the match. 

Paul Glander scores from a Germany penalty corner to give it a 3-1 lead against India. Glander’s shot at goal is deflected inside the net by Vishnu. 

India gets its 11th penalty corner and this time, Boby Sing is at the end of the injection at the edge of the circle. He shoots at goal but Nnaji makes a good save. 

Ben Hasbach gets a green card, which means the goalscorer has to sit out for 2 minutes. He used his foot to deliberately break down play. 

India breaks on a counter-attack but the final shot does not come. The urgency for the equaliser is visible. The Germans have defended well till now. 

Germany leads India by a scoreline of 2-1 as the third-quarter is underway!

A brace by Ben Hasbach keeps Germany in a 2-1 lead at half-time 

Ben Hasbach scores his second to give Germany a 2-1 lead right before half-time. The goal comes from Germany’s first penalty-corner. Hasbach finds the net by diverting the ball into the net as a shot came at Mohith. 

Germany gets its first penalty corner of the match in the dying minutes of the second-quarter. 

Four penalty corners in quick succession and still, the Indians cannot convert. India has had nine penalty corners in total in the match till now. It came the closest in the last one as Vishnukant Singh tried to deflect the ball inside the net from close distance, but failed to hit the target. 

Liam Holderman comes close to giving Germany the lead as his shot from inside the circle comes off the crossbar. There was a slight deflection off Struthoff’s stick. 

It is Lakra at the end of the injection again and this time, he goes for the drag-flick. However, he cannot hit the target. 

A green card or Jan Cordes for fouling Sudeep. India has a penalty corner.

India gets a penalty corner for a foul on Amandeep. The first one for the Indians in the second quarter. 

In the end, it is a waste as Lakra delayed his shot, allowing the Germans to close him down. The Indians complain that a hand was involved but of course, it has lost its referral. 

Michel Struthoff brings down the ball with a good touch and shoots at goal from a tight angle. The ball flashes across the goal. Any sort of touch from a German player could have resulted in a second. 

The second-quarter starts at the National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. 

Scores level at 1-1 at the end of the first-quarter. Ben Hasbach and Sudeep Chirmako on the scoresheet. 

Sudeep equalises for India - It is an excellent shot across the face of goal. The German keeper came forward to narrow the angle but Sudeep keeps his composure to find the net from the edge of the circle. 

A couple of penalty corners for India in quick succession but the Germans defend well to preserve their narrow lead. 

India has lost its referral and Germany’s 1-0 lead will stand. 

Hold on, there is a video referral to see if the goal was scored legally. At first glance, it looked like a goal. 

Germany scores as Ben Hasbach gives the lead on a rebound goal. Uttam lost possession with a sloppy pass in midfield, which allowed Germany to counter. 

Liam Holderman goes for the shot but Mohith comes forward to block the shot. The danger is still there as Aaron takes the shot. The shot is blocked on the line but Hasbach scores from the rebound. 

Another penalty corner for India and this time, Nnaji makes another good save low, to his left. Exciting moments from India early in the match. 

India capitalises from an unforced error by Germany. India breaks on the counter and Rajinder shoots at goal but German keeper Nnaji makes the save. 

An early penalty corner for India - Lakra receives the ball and goes for the shot but it is blocked. A positive start for the Indians. 

The FIH Junior World Cup semifinal between India and Germany is underway at the National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Goalkeepers: Mohith HS, Ranvijay Singh Yadav 

Defenders: Shardanand Tiwari, Amandeep Lakra, Rohit, Sunil JoJo, Amir Ali 

Midfielders: Vishnukant Singh, Poovanna CB, Rajinder Singh, Amandeep, Aditya Singh 

Forwards: Uttam Singh (C), Aditya Lalage, Araijeet Singh Hundal (VC), Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Sudeep Chirmako, Boby Singh Dhami

Replacement players: Sukhvinder, Sunit Lakra

Following an exhilarating comeback win against the Netherlands in the quarterfinal of the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Malaysia 2023, the Indian Colts are set to face the formidable Germans in the semifinal on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In the previous matches, India secured a 4-2 victory against Korea, suffered a 4-1 defeat to Spain, and bounced back with a commanding 10-1 win over Canada, ultimately securing a second-place finish in Pool C. India triumphed over the Netherlands, a European powerhouse ranked fourth in world rankings, in a thrilling quarterfinal clash, staging a remarkable comeback to conquer the Dutch with a 4-3 scoreline.

Reflecting on the incredible turnaround in the quarterfinals on Tuesday and playing under pressure, Captain Uttam Singh, “We are now used to playing under pressure. Be it the Asia Cup Final against Pakistan or the Bronze Medal match in the Sultan of Johor Cup, we have played and won under pressure. It’s something we have worked on and we have developed a skill set. It also helps that five players from the existing team were part of the previous Junior World Cup, so our experience also comes in handy.”

The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team has faced Germany four times this year and has lost on all four occasions, with their last defeat coming in the semifinals of the Sultan of Johor Cup 2023 3-6. Notably, India faltered to Germany by 2-4 in the semifinals of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 as well.

LIVE STREAMING INFO

The FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 semifinals in Kuala Lumpur will be telecast live on the Sports18 network. The match can also be live-streamed via the Jio Cinema app and website.

The match starts at 3:30 PM on Thursday, December 14, 2023.