India 3-2 Germany, FIH Pro League HIGHLIGHTS: Sukhjeet, Harmanpreet goals help India beat World Cup champion Germany

It is the Aussies up next for India. They take on at the same venue on Sunday, March 12. This will be followed by another two matches with the same opponents - Germany and Australia. For now, the win takes the Men in Blue to third place in the FIH Pro League. Sportstar will keep you posted with the latest news and updates from the league. It is goodbye for now.

“Quite a lot that didn’t work for us. But it is not a problem. We are back after a four week break. This was our first game after the World Cup. We gave it our all and did a fine job.”

The Indian forward wins the award for the best player of the game.

“I want to thank the crowd for their support,” he says after the award.

The full-time hooter blows! And India wins to get the three points. What a match! Germany with a late flurry but that was not enough to get the better of the home team. India bounces back in style from the World Cup debacle. Harmanpreet got India ahead in the second quarter before Sukhjeet added two more. Germany, fitting its ‘comeback kings’ title, found two goals in the third and fourth periods via Kaufmann and Struthoff. But that was all it could muster. India relied on its defence to clear out all attacks. IT starts the mini-tournament with a win.

Jugraj yet again with impeccable control fights the ball out of danger.

Harmanpreet misses! He misses the stroke! Stadler is brought back for the shot and Germany survives. 40 seconds to get level.

Germany asks for a referral. Dilpreet took the shot which was blocked by a German foot. The shot looked like going in and the decision is upheld.

India wins a penalty stroke! The home team broke out on a counter and advanced all the way to the German circle. Dilpreet shoots. It goes wide but the umpire signals for a penalty stroke.

Zwicker is the orchestrator for the attack as he takes a quick free hit. The ball is slapped in the circle and Struthoff connects from close-range. He was scoring from there with his eyes closed!

OFF THE POST! Germany inches away from the second goal. India is rescued by the upright.

Germany scores but the umpire had whistled for a free hit before that. India survives.

Germany has gone in overdrive mode. It has taken off Stadler, its keeper, and has 11 outfield players.

There is a referral here. A German players seems to have asked the umpire for the call. Captain Mats Grambusch clarifies that there was no such appeal and Germany is handed a long corner.

Manpreet’s touch prevents a German circle entry and wins a long corner for the visting side.

Tom Grambusch intercepts an India pass and breaks out on a counter attack. India manages to get enough bodies back for the defence and the speed of attack slows down.

Kaufmann’s shot misses the target. Germany still two goals down as just over seven minutes remain.

Sukhjeet gets a pass in the German circle. He bamboozles Bosserhoff with a 360-degree spina and then a reverse. Somehow, he falls onto the gorund but the umpire waives off the appeal for an infringement by the German.

Hardik with a neat move while hugging the left touchline. He wins a free hit and allows India to hold the ball.

Germany is again on the charge and is near the Indian circle. This time Sumit and Manpreet bail India out of trouble.

Jugraj lays his stick parallel to the ground and stops a pass from Ludwig in front of goal. He is able to clear eventually and India avoids any trouble.

Kleinlein was given a green card earlier and he has completed the suspension and is back on the field.

Sumit enters the German circle. The ball pops up in the air the slightest bit and the Indian players are up in appeal. A free hit to Germany, says the umpire.

Another successful referal. The ball hits the handle of the stick and India gets a free hit.

Germany is awarded a penalty corner but the Indian team refers. Vivek is the man under review. He says the ball hit the handle and not his body.

The lasty quarter starts. Germany with 15 minutes to find a reply.

Well the game advanced pretty fast in the this quarter. India consolidated on the first half lead with two more from Sukhjeet before Kaufmann cut the lead by one.

Germany pulls one back immediately. Mazkour enters the circle and plays the ball across. It hits the post before Kaufmann sweeps it home for Germany’s first goal.

India is three goals ahead. Sukhjeet with the finish again! It is again a quick break that yields the result. Karthi gets a long pass and he beats Stadler, who is out of goal. With the goal empty, Sukhjeet slots it home.

Harmanpreet is back on the pitch. Upon his return, he almost concedes possession to Struthoff, but the ball rolls out off the German’s stick.

Kaufmann is in the Indian circle tries to find a pass back. The ball, however, lands with an India stick and the attack fizzles out.

The ball came off Manpreet’s stick and the decision is reversed. India gets a free hit. A brilliant referral.

The shot is saved but Germany gets another corner. Manpreet rushes to the umpire to ask for a referral.

Germany gets the short corner finally! Struthoff finds the foot. Manpreet the guilty here.

Germany appears to have been given a penalty corner. But the two umpires consult and the decision is changed to a long corner.

India sitting deep. Germany has had more possession over the past couple of minutes.

Germany’s Martin Zwicker is shown a green card. He will sit out the next two minutes.

Sumit wins a free hit for India near the Germany circle.

Germany using the man advantage and straight away makes a circle entry. A scrappy exchange but the India goal remains undistrubed.

Harmanpreet has been shown a yellow card. The reason is not yet clear. Seems to be something he said to the umpire. India down to 10 men for the next five minutes.

This time Harmanpreet is tasked to take the drag flick and he hits it wide. Seemed to have hit Ludwig on the leg but India does not take the referral.

SAVED BY STADLER! He saves it with his left but India is able to win another corner. Hardik finds the leg of Zwicker.

Jugraj’s darg flick is blocked by Ludwig - Germany’s first rusher. It came off his foot and India gets another penalty corner.

India wins a penalty corner! A third goal incoming?

India with another circle entry and the players have asked for a referral. Shamsher enters and plays a reverse stick pass, and Stadler while defending plays the ball dangerously. The ball hit Abhishek on the face. Should be awarded to India.

INDIA SCORES! It is 2-0! Out of nowhere, Sukhjeet finds the goal. It is just recovering from an attack and slowly moving the ball forward. Jarman plays a slap shot into the circle and Sukhjeet lunges forward to connect with it. A lightening move and India is ahead by two goals.

Jarmanpreet and Dilpreet combine deep within their half to fight a way out of trouble!

And the game is back on for the second iteration of the match. Will Germany come out all guns blazing, or will India continue to frustrate? Stay tuned to know.

India’s David John: We are playing a different structure and style. Pleased to score at the end there.

Germany’s Andre Henning: I was happy until the last second. Surprised with the decision (for the penalty corner). We had a lot of possession and now we have to get our minds back on track.

The visitor has had the more chances, more circle enteries, more PCs and more possession. Yet, it trails in the count that matters the most - Goals.

Talk about going against the run of play! Germany had been the better attacking side for the entire half. India somehow prised out a corner before the mid way hooter and used it to maximum effect. It still haas work to do but the goal would surely boost the morale going into the second half.

Stadler is beaten! India goes ahead. The crowd is raucous as Harmanpreet scores on the stroke of half time. He opts for the left side of goal and he beats Stadler with his pace. India.

SUCCESSFUL! India has a chance to ahead through a penalty corner.

India with a circle entry on the cusp of half time. It has appealed for a referral. Abhishek has asked for a penalty corner for an obstruction by Muller.

Jarman under considerable pressure in his half. He has the ball and two Germany players breathing down his neck. He manages to play the ball out.

India with a circle entry. Hardik with a clever tweener pass for his teammate. But the ball pops up into the air and is judged dangerous.

Sturthoff takes a shot at goal but he misses. Pawan is smart enough to not touch the ball on its way out.

India again with a last-ditch stick interception to deny Germany a chance.

Gurjant with a circle penetration. He feigns a pass to beat a defender. His ultimate pass to his teammate o his right is deemed too high. India loses the ball.

Prinz with a dangerous run into the circle. India somehow finds a stick to block the run and evade a shot. The German was charging right down the middle, skipping past mutliple Indian shirts.

India with a first spell of sustained possession. It tries a slash across the face of goal, in hopes of finding Sukhjeet with a tap, but the ball is too fast.

Successful! Muller with quick hand speed had found the ball with his stick, and not the foot. A free hit to Germany.

Germany goes for a referral. Muller is the man in question here.

India wins a penalty corner. Sukhjeet with his lightening pace wins the ball and dashes forward. He is in the circle and finds a German foot.

India with a quick move enters the German circle. But led by Grambusch, the vistor is able to claw its way out from the situation.

India loses the ball but Hardik comes to the rescue and wins it back for his side. Sumit then loses it on a charge forward.

India commences play for the second quarter.

That’s the hooter! Germany all the way in the first quarter. India survives, but if this is a sign of things to come, Sreejesh is in for a long night.

Bosserhoff with a pass across the face of goal but the umpire deems it to be dangerous. Free hit to India.

A free hit on the edge of the circle for Germany.

Jarman and Harman look to combine from the back. Germans are pressing and the former commits an error and loses the ball.

India builds a counter from the corner defence. Sukhjeet tries a shot from the right side of goal but slips and the ball goes out of play.

SAVED! Sreejesh blocks Peillet’s drag flick with his right hand. The flurry of short corners finally comes to an end.

’Video Referral successful! The umpire deems it to be a high ball and Germany keeps its referral.

India is able to defend again but Grambusch has opted for a video referral. Germany appeals for a high ball.

Manpreet does his job as the first charger and blocks the drag flick. Third penalty corner for Germany.

Peillet takes the drag flick and Germany gets a second take.

Penalty corner for Germany! The first one of the game. It comes off Harmanpreet’s leg. Sreejesh just saved an attepmt but could not prevent the short corner.

DILPREET! So close! Dilpreet takes a shot which is barely saved by Stadler. The Indian forward was a target of a long pass, and he took it first time. While he might have missed, he certainly caught Stadler by surprise.

Chance for Germany! Ludwig with a lovely dribble from the right flank cuts into the Indian circle. his shot is blocked but Mats Grambusch gets the ball. He controls it neatly and lets a shot out. Goes wide and India survives.

Germany relentless! It wins the possession back in not time and continues pressurising India. The home team being made to sit back.

Karthi wins the possession for India from close to its circle after Germany had been threatening a circle entry from the left flank.

Abhishek’s shot goes wide! A long range pass is not collected cleanly by the German defence. Abhishek pounces with a tomahawk but it does not test the keeper.

Manpreet Singh with the first dribble and a reverse stick hit. It goes wide but that was enough for the first big cheer from the crowd.

Germany is able to win the ball but the speed of play remains slow as India has all spaces covered.

We’re underway at the Birsa Munda International Stadium.

The two teams appear out of the players tunnel and the national anthems are played. Germany’s first followed by India’s.

India’s David John: We’re lucky to be back here so soon after the World Cup. We have youth in the team, preparing for the Asian Games. Looking to play our game and score goals for the crowd

Germany’s Andre Henning: We enjoyed the World Cup win. Great to be here. A lot to do. We see potential tactics wise. We have some younger players in the squad who should improve the quality of the team.

On field Umpires - Paul Walker, David Tomlinson

Video Umpire - Ahmed Alsayed

The last time India and Germany played a game that did not have goals was all the way back in 1995. Over the last four meetings, at least three goals have been scored.

The Bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics had a whopping nine goals, with India winning the contest 5-4.

Safe to say we can expect more of the same today in Rourkela.

Harmanpreet Singh has been in top form in the league this season. He has scored six goals so far, and is the joint-highest scorer in the league with Belgium’s Alexander Hendrickx and Spain’s Marc Reyne.

Argentina 0-3 Germany

Germany 0-1 Belgium

Argentina 2(3)-2(4) Germany

Belgium 2-3 Germany

India 2(3)-2(1) Spain

India 7-4 New Zealand

India 2-3 Spain

India 4-3 New Zealand

Both India and Germany have had identical campaigns in the league this season. Out of four games, both have won two, drawn one and lost one. They have eight points each but India is fourth while Germany is fifth by virtue of more goals scored.

The two teams faced off in the FIH Pro League 2021-22 as well. India emerged victorious in those games then, winning 3-0 and 3-1 in the two matches.

India even defeated Germany at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to clinch the bronze medal.

Will we see another victory for the Men in Blue tonight?

Germany will take the field for the first time since its title in January. It became the third team to lift the World Cup three or more times, joining Pakistan and Australia.

India-9 | Germany-15 | Draw- 7

This will be India’s first game under new coach Craig Fulton. The South African was appointed to the role after Graham Reid stepped down following India’s early exit from the World Cup in January. Fulton was an assistant coach with Belgium men’s team since 2018.

Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Pawan, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Jugraj Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Manjeet, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh (V/C), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, S. Karthi, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Gurjant Singh

(7) ALEXANDER STADLER, (21) MICHEL STRUTHOFF, (2) MATHIAS MÜLLER, (3) MATS GRAMBUSCH (22) MARCO MILTKAU, (23) MARTIN ZWICKER, (5) LINUS MÜLLER, (24) ERIK KLEINLEIN, (25) HANNES MÜLLER, (11) CONSTANTIN STAIB, (13) PAUL-PHILIPP KAUFMANN, (29) MALTE HELLWIG, (14) TEO HINRICHS, (30) THIES PRINZ, (15) TOM GRAMBUSCH, (16) GONZALO PEILLAT, (38) ANTHEUS BARRY, (19) JUSTUS WEIGAND, (44) MORITZ LUDWIG, (20) NIKLAS BOSSERHOFF, (62) ELIAN MAZKOUR (74) JEAN-PAUL DANNEBERG

The match between India and Germany will start at 7 PM. The match will be telecasted live in India on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD TV channels in India. While the livestream of the same will be available on Fancode.

The Indian men’s team will eye redemption when it takes on the newly-crowned World Champions Germany in the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022/23 match on Friday at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.

Led by star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian team exited the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 in the pre-quarterfinal stage. The team will aim to regain its confidence by putting up an excellent show in the League.

Ahead of the match, Harmanpreet Singh, who is currently one of the three joint top-scorers with six goals to his name in the tournament, said that every game is challenging, but the Indian team considers it an opportunity to improve as a team and perform better in future.

“Every match at this stage is challenging for us, especially when the oppositions are Australia and Germany. However, it’s good for us that we are getting to play such challenging matches as our focus is on Asian Games. So, we will make sure that we improve as a team by playing such games and give our best in the future,” Harmanpreet said.

Meanwhile, Hardik Singh, who was recently announced as the new vice-captain of the team, revealed that going forward, India will tweak its strategy but its core values will remain the same.

“There will be minor changes to our strategy, but our core values and principles of the team will remain the same. Also, we will not only focus on our attacking style of play but also work on keeping the possession,” Hardik said.

India, who is currently fourth in the points tally, hosted New Zealand and Spain at the Kalinga Stadium last year in October. India kicked off its campaign with a superb 4-3 and 7-4 win against New Zealand, followed by a 3-2 loss and a 2-2 draw against Spain.

On the other hand, the Germany Men’s Hockey team, who is ranked fifth in the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022/23 with eight points from four games, will be oozing with confidence having won the World Cup 2023 recently.

Led by Mats Grambusch, the German team will aim to continue its rich vein of form and will be eager to put its best foot forward against the hosts. However, Grambusch believes that the World Cup win is now a thing of the past and the team needs to keep working on becoming better with each passing day.

“All our matches in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 were really close as we won our quarterfinal and final games through shootouts. We secured victory in the semi-final in the last few seconds of the game. So, considering that there will be many competing games against some good teams like Australia, India, Belgium, and Netherlands in the leadup to the 2024 Paris Olympics, we have to improve what we can improve and that’s going to be our focus,” Grambusch said.

“To be honest, we don’t care about being the current World Champions or World No.1 team. We want to be as successful as possible,” he added.

Last year in November, at the Pro League, Germany registered victories in two matches. They clinched a hard-fought 3-2 win against Belgium, while they defeated Argentina 3-0. In the reverse fixtures, Germany lost 0-1 against Belgium before beating Argentina in the penalty shootout.