Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup Group D match between India and Spain. This was Nihit Sachdeva taking you through the action as it unfolded at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.
At the end of day one of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, here’s how the points table looks
Full-time hooter is on. India wins its tournament opener! No goals in the second half but no worries for Graham Reid’s men as they manage to keep a clean sheet after scoring twice in the first 30 minutes. Amit Rohidas has been declared the Player of the Match.
Circle penetration from Spain, Lalit makes a clearance which goes beyond the baseline. Spain uses a referral, saying it was deliberate from Lalit and should be a PC for the Red Sticks but the original decision stands.
India is back to full strength as Abhishek’s ten-minute suspension is over.
PENALTY CORNER FOR SPAIN. Bonastre shows his 3D skills as he enters the circle from the right and draws a foul from Jarmanpreet. However, Spain fails to execute the PC routine as the ball is not even trapped properly.
Lalit runs with the ball down the right flank but eventually runs out of play.
Into the last five minutes now. Circle penetration stats: India - 27, Spain - 21.
Cunill with the drag-flick following the PC routine but it is at a decent height to the right of Krishan Pathak and the Indian goalkeeper makes no mistake in keeping the ball out.
PENALTY CORNER FOR SPAIN. Stick check from Nilam Sanjeep Xess on Iglesias. India loses the referral as the original decision stands.
Opportunity for Spain but Krishan blocks a goal-bound shot from Iglesias. India maintains its lead.
Despite being a man short, India has done well so far to keep the ball in the Spanish half. Still, quite some time left before Abhishek can come back.
TEN-MINUTE SUSPENSION FOR ABHISHEK after a collision with Bonastre. India down to 10 men for almost the entire last quarter.
India looks to construct something from the back. Eventually, a pass into the Spanish D from the left flank but the men in red watch the ball carefully before putting it away.
Last 15 minutes. Here we go. Can Spain make a comeback or will India manage to hold on to its lead?
End of the third quarter. India still ahead 2-0 but it could have been more. Frustrating night for skipper Harmanpreet.
PENALTY CORNER FOR INDIA. And yet again, Harmanpreet’s drag-flick misses the right corner and goes wide.
Shamsher was ready for an easy tap-in at the far post after a brilliant pass from the right from Varun but Enrique Gonzalez got a touch just in time to push the ball away from its original path.
Quick charge down the middle from India. Akashdeep with the aerial pass to Manpreet who makes the run inside the D but the ball goes over former Indian skipper and out of play.
PENALTY CORNER FOR INDIA. Vivek Sagar Prasad’s pass from the midfield finds Lalit inside the D who deflects it onto Bonastre’s foot. However, the drag-flick from Manpreet goes wide.
Unmarked Lalit finds the ball on the edge of the Spanish D. Lalit puts it in, hoping to find a blue shirt at the near or far post but the ball goes out of play.
Spain is down to 10 men as Marc Reyne has been shown a yellow card which means five minutes in the sin bin. Not what the Red Sticks needed at this stage.
PENALTY STROKE TO INDIA. Quick steal from Akashdeep close to the Spanish D. Akashdeep is fouled from behind just as he looks to shoot. Harmanpreet takes the penalty stroke and goes for the bottom-left corner but Spanish goalkeeper Rafi just manages to stop the ball before it crosses the goal-line. Indian captain uses a referral but the original decision stands.
Miralles puts Bonastre through on the right flank. Bonastre tries to put the ball inside the Indian D, hoping to find a red shirt but does not get the result he hoped for.
Second half begins. India plays from right to left and Spain from left to right.
Here comes the half-time hooter. India with a comfortable 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Amit Rohidas and Hardik Singh. Spain needs to do better in order to have a chance of a comeback. India had 17 circle penetrations in the first half. Spain, on the other hand, had only nine.
Spain with a chance in the last few seconds of the first half. A long pass from the midfield finds Iglesias inside the D but he looks to pass it to his teammate at the far post instead of going for the goal himself which allows Surender Kumar to intercept the ball.
Akashdeep Singh has been shown a green card - two-minute suspension - for a stick check on the Spanish player making his way into the Indian D.
GOALLLL!!!! Hardik Singh makes it 2-0 for India. A stunning run down the left flank from Hardik before entering the D and passing it to Lalit at the left post but the ball takes a deflection off the stick of Pau Cunill standing in front of Lalit and goes past goalkeeper Rafi.
Opportunity for Spain as Clapes takes the ball inside the Indian D and stick check from Indian skipper Harmanpreet results in first Penalty Corner for Spain. Pau Cunill with a thunderous shot from the PC, going for the top-left corner but a brilliant diving save from Krishan Pathak keeps India’s lead intact.
Spain with a little bit of momentum in the last few minutes. Can the Red Sticks find the equaliser before half-time?
Quick play on the right flank from Spain. Miralles puts it in for Recasens at the edge of the D, Recasens to Iglesias inside the D who loses balance while taking his shot at the Indian goal. Easy work for Indian goalkeeper Krishan Pathak.
Brief spell of possession for Spain ends as Harmanpreet runs with the ball down the right flank before passing it back to a defender.
Spain, somehow, manages to get out of its own half with the ball but it does not result in a circle entry. Steady defending from the men in blue.
Second quarter begins. India on the attack straight away. Jarmanpreet takes a shot at the near post from the right inside the D but the Spanish goalkeeper keeps the attempt out. India has made a change in goal. Krishan Pathak is in for PR Sreejesh.
Here comes the hooter. End of first quarter. India leads 1-0.
Another PC for India as Amit Rohidas cleverly hits the ball onto a Spanish defender’s foot behind him inside the D. However, Nilakanta’s shot goes wide of the right post. Positive signs for India.
GOALLLLL!!!!!! India earned another PC courtesy of dangerous play inside the D from a Spaniard. Hardik injects, Harmanpreet’s drag flick is blocked but Amit Rohidas finds the top-right corner with a brilliant hit. It is 200th goal in World Cups for the men in blue!
PENALTY CORNER TO INDIA. A long aerial pass from the left from Hardik to find Shamsher on the edge of the Spanish D. Shamsher duly finds a Spanish foot with his pass. First real opportunity for the host nation but Harmanpreet is unable to convert it. Two-minute suspension for Pepe Cunill.
Another brilliant steal from the Indians inside the Spanish half. Akashdeep puts Mandeep through on the right flank who takes the ball inside the D but loses possession.
Loose pass from a Spanish player near his own D, Akashdeep steals the ball and puts it in from the right to find Mandeep at the near post. However, no real threat caused.
Menini with the ball inside the Indian D but does not manage to find any Indian foot. No penalty corners in the match so far.
Hardik with the seal in the Indian half. Men in Blue on the counter-attack, Akashdeep tries to find a teammate inside the Spanish D with his pass from the left but it’s a red shirt who intercepts it.
Circle entry from the right for India. No harm done to the Spanish goal done though.
Spanish captain Miralles with a solo run down the middle but eventually loses the ball on the edge of the Indian D.
Spain with most of the possession in the early stages of the game.
And it begins. Spain plays from right to left and India, left to right. An early attempt on goal for Spain from Iglesias but his shot is wide and misses the far post.
7:20PM - Here’s one final look at the lineups!
7:18PM - Here we go. Live action beginning shortly.
7:15PM - Time for the national anthems.
7:13PM - It’s a full house at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium. The two teams step onto the pitch. India in blue jerseys and Spain in red. In World Cups, Spain leads the head-to-head record 3-2 with one match finishing in a draw.
6:55PM - Here are the other results from the opening day of the World Cup. ICYMI, check the updates here:
Pool A: Argentina 1-0 South Africa
Pool A: Australia 8-0 France
Pool D: England 5-0 Wales
6:35PM - Starting Lineups are out!
India - PR Sreejesh (GK), Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (c), Shamsher Singh, Varun Kumar, Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas, Sukhjeet Singh
Substitutes - Jarmanpreet Singh, Abhishek, Krishan Pathak (GK), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Spain - Adrian Rafi (GK), Marc Miralles (c), Alejandro Alonso, Xavier Gispert, Enrique Gonzalez, Alvaro Iglesias, Jordi Bonastre, Pepe Cunill, Joaquin Menini, Ignacio Rodriguez, Borja Lacalle
Subs - Mario Garin (GK), Marc Recasens, Marc Reyne, Pau Cunill, Marc Vizcaino, Cesar Curiel, Gerard Clapes
6:30PM - Here’s more on the atmosphere in Rourkela and around the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium by Aashin Prasad.
6:25PM - Click here to vote for your favourite sporting heroes ahead of the Sportstar Aces Awards 2023.
6:20PM - Here’s a brief video preview from our on-ground reporter Uthra Ganesan
6:15PM - LAST FIVE MEETINGS
November 6, 2022: India 2-2 Spain (FIH Pro League)
October 30, 2022: India 2-3 Spain (FIH Pro League)
February 27, 2022: India 3-5 Spain (FIH Pro League)
February 26, 2022: India 5-4 Spain (FIH Pro League)
July 27, 2021: India 3-0 Spain (Tokyo Olympics)
6:10PM -HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Played: 30 | India: 13 | Spain: 11 | Draw: 6
6PM - The FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 is up and running with two matches done and dusted and the third nearing the halfway mark. However, the marquee fixture of the day begins at 7PM when Indian team, led by star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, takes on Spain in its Group D opener. Stay tuned for all the pre-match build-up!
PREVIEW (By Uthra Ganesan)
When India regained an Olympic medal after 41 years at Tokyo, it re-ignited hopes that a World Cup medal too was not impossible. A lot has changed since then for and with the team — in terms of personnel as well as results.
Runner-up at the 2022 Commonwealth Games sounds good until one looks at the hammering by Australia in the final. A third-place finish at the Asian Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup with largely young and inexperienced squads meant while the bench was tested, the senior players had to make do with the handful of Pro League games for match-practice.
None of it would matter when India lines up against Spain for its opening World Cup game at the brand new, still-getting-finishing touches Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Friday. Like the venue, the team would be raring for a fresh start.
SQUADS
India
Spain
It won’t be an easy outing, though. Spain is one of the youngest sides in the fray but with an astute coach looking to build a team for the future. India won the meeting at the Tokyo Olympics, but since then, the teams have shared honours in the last four Pro League games — all in Bhubaneswar. For a team that traditionally tends to start slow and gradually pick up momentum, India will have to fire from the beginning here.
In captain Alvaro Iglesias, Enrique Gonzalez and Argentine import Joaquin Menini, Spain has the experience and in Max Caldas, a coach who knows India well — he was with the Dutch last time around, ending India’s campaign in the quarterfinals and reaching the final.
In his limited time with Spain so far, he has shown he is not afraid to experiment with strategies.
“It is a bit difficult to tell how much influence past results have but I think it gives us confidence. For most of our players it is the first World Cup and that can be a different feeling from the Pro League,” Caldas said.
Meanwhile, the host has a mix of youth and experience in every department. The senior pros, including Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Akashdeep Singh, will be expected to guide the youngsters.
The biggest advantage, of course, would be the crowd. The stadium is sold-out and the Odisha public has always been vocal in its support.
When and where will India vs Spain Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup be played?
India vs Spain Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup will be played at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Friday - January 13, 2023.
At what time will India vs Spain Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup begin?
India vs Spain Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup will begin at 7PM IST.
Where to watch India vs Spain Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup?
India vs Spain Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup will be telecast live on Star Sports First, Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2 SD. The same will be streamed live on Disney+ Hotstar.
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