India 4-2 Wales HIGHLIGHTS, Hockey World Cup 2023: Men in blue finish second behind England in Group D on goal difference
Hockey World Cup 2023: Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the Indian men’s hockey team’s final Group D match against Wales at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
Updated : Jan 19, 2023 21:15 IST
India’s Akashdeep Singh celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Wales during the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 Group D match at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT
Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the Indian men’s hockey team’s final Group D match against Wales at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023. This was Nihit Sachdeva taking you through live action as it unfolded at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
India vs Wales, Hockey World Cup: Quarterfinals, crossovers qualification scenarios explained
India will next face New Zealand in a crossover match at 7PM on January 22 (Sunday) - DETAILS
Full-time whistle has been blown. India wins 4-2 and equals England’s tally of seven points in Group D. However, due to inferior goal difference, India finishes second and will have to play a crossover match against the third-placed team of Group C which is New Zealand. England directly progresses to the quarterfinals. Akashdeep has been named the Player of the Match.
PENALTY CORNER FOR INDIA as Lalit finds Gareth Furlong’s foot inside the D. GOALLLL!!!!! Harmanpreet opens his account in this World Cup as the drag-flick finds the centre of the goal.
Wales has taken its goalkeeper off and brought in an extra player.
Pass from Akashdeep to Lalit inside the D who turns and goes for the right post without even looking at it. Misses the target by quite some distance.
Aerial pass helps Wales get the ball into the D. Shipperley takes it down well and passes it to the right post. However, the ball is cleared away by the Indian defence. Manpreet is fouled in the midfield by Shipperley who has been shown a green card.
Desperate attempt from India, using a referral and claiming the ball had touched a Welsh foot inside the D. The decision goes against them.
Shamsher’s pass found Abhishek inside the D who trapped it before hitting the Tomahawk. It took a deflection before finding the top-left corner. However, the official uses a referral and as it turned out, Abhishek’s shot had hit Furlong above the knee before going it. The goal has been disallowed.
Aerial pass from Surender but Rhodri Furlong with a brilliant takedown on the left flank.
Shot from Bradshow but Krishan Pathak makes a save with his right foot.
Steal from India in the Welsh half. Pressure on the men in black. Lalit’s back pass from the baseline had too much height on it and Mandeep’s effort is blocked by the Welsh goalkeeper.
SAVE!!!! India with a brilliant counter-attack. Sukhjeet had the chance to make it 4-2 but his shot was directly at Reynolds-Cotterill.
Final quarter begins. GOALLLLLL!!!!! Akashdeep puts India back ahead after brilliant return pass from Sukhjeet. Brilliant tomahawk to find the bottom-left corner.
Draper has taken a knock to his face. He is bleeding and hence, forced to go off the field. Third quarter is over.
PENALTY CORNER FOR WALES as Jarmanpreet fouls Newbold from behind. GOALLLL!!!!!!! Sreejesh keeps the initial drag-flick out from Furlong but ball finds its way back to injecter Jacob Draper who scoops it over Sreejesh to find the back of the net.
PENALTY CORNER FOR WALES as Jarmanpreet infringes the aerial pass. GOALLLLL!!!!!! Excellent drag-flick from Gareth Furlong to find the bottom left-corner.
Another PENALTY CORNER FOR INDIA. Wales wants to use a referral but it does not have one as it had wasted it during India’s last PC. Harmanpreet with the shot, going for the bottom-left corner but the Welsh goalkeeper keeps it out.
PENALTY CORNER FOR INDIA as Amit Rohidas is brought down by Hawker just as he is about to enter the striking circle. Yet again, another failure to convert the PC from India.
A green card has been shown to Gareth Furlong and he will spend two minutes in the sin bin.
Varun finds a loose ball inside the Indian half. Passes it to Manpreet in the middle who takes the ball forward before putting it into the striking circle from the right. However, it does not find the desired finishing touch from an Indian stick.
PENALTY CORNER FOR INDIA. Welsh defense tried to clear the ball near the right post but ended up hitting the ball onto the foot of Francis. Abhishek injects, Varun with the drag-flick down the middle and the effort is blocked.
PENALTY CORNER FOR INDIA. Indians have increased the attack and it is paying them. However, yet again, Indian skipper Harmanpreet’s drag-flick does not find the back of the net. Frustration continues for India No. 13.
GOALLLL!!!! Excellent work from Akashdeep and Mandeep. Mandeep received the ball on the edge of the D, provided the return pass to Akashdeep who went for the kill. The ball hit the right post before going in to find the bottom-left corner.
Counter attack from Wales. Harmanpreet with the clearance but it is a PENALTY CORNER FOR WALES for intentional clearance from the Indian skipper. Sreejesh is back in goal. Gareth Furlong’s shot goes wide of the top-right corner.
Second half begins. India takes the pushback and plays from left to right. Mandeep receives the ball just outside the D and looks to put Sukhjeet through but the ball goes out of play.
India head coach Graham Reid: What let us down in the first half was the quality of our skills. We were fumbling the ball a lot.
India will need a miracle in the second half to go past England on goal difference and top the group. However, stranger things have happened in a fast-paced sport like hockey. Stay tuned!
Final minute of the first half. Jarmanpreet and Varun Kumar look to somehow take the ball inside the striking circle from the right flank but can not do it.
Patient move down the left flank from India. Mandeep quickly makes his way into the striking circle along the baseline and targets the near post but the effort is blocked by the right leg of Reynolds-Cotterill.
Jarmanpreet from the right flank finds Mandeep inside the D with his pass. Mandeep passes it to a diving Varun Kumar at the near post but excellent defending from Wales to avoid any damage.
Vivek Sagar Prasad with the ball in the midfield and puts Lalit through. Lalit passes the ball back to Vivek who has made his way into the D. However, the move results in nothing consequential. Meanwhile, Wales on the charge and has a shot going just wide of the right post.
Shamsher has broken the deadlock. Can India find another goal before the end of first half?
Wales with the ball inside the striking circle but fails to make use of it. Counter-attack from India. Pass from Amit Rohidas to Mandeep inside the striking circle but Mandeep is fouled from behind. PENALTY CORNER TO INDIA. Harmanpreet’s drag-flick is blocked yet again but Shamsher receives the rebound, enters the striking circle and finds the bottom right corner! GOALLLL!!!!!!!!
Shipperley with a cross aerial pass to Newbold inside the Indian D but the Welsh player’s shot is blocked by a man in blue.
Vivek Sagar Prasad’s shot from the midfield finds the back of the Welsh goal but it is pointless since there was no touch inside the striking circle.
India has had the lion’s share of possession. However, the score remains 0-0.
Second quarter begins. Change in goal for India as Krishan Pathak replaces Sreejesh. PENALTY CORNER TO INDIA. Shamsher leads the counter-attack and finds Abhishek inside the D who gets the foul. However, Harmanpreet Singh’s drag-flick does not have any power whatsoever and it is defended easily at the right post.
Final minute of the first quarter ends with no harm done to either goal.
Another entry in the striking circle from India. Akashdeep with a shot from the far post but yet again, Welsh goalkeeper defends like a wall.
Attack from Wales. Rhodri Furlong with a pass along the face of the Indian goal but gets no finishing touch from any of his teammates.
Mandeep with the ball near the baseline inside the Welsh D and hits it onto a Welsh defenders foot but the official deems it too high and hence, no penalty corner given.
James Carson with the ball in the Indian half but no one to support. India gets the possession back.
SAVE! India with a steal near the Welsh D. Nilakanta enters the D and hits the Tomahawk but Reynolds-Cotterill saves the goal-bound effort with his left foot.
Nilakanta Sharma with excellent dribbling skills in the midfield amidst high pressing from the Welsh players.
Mandeep puts the ball into the Welsh D but it finds a man in black who controls the ball and calmly sends it out of danger.
Wales with a little bit of possession. Looking to enter the Indian circle from the left but nice work from Nilakanta Sharma in defense.
Harmanpreet with a pass down the right flank to Sukhjeet near the baseline. No harm done to the Welsh D though.
Pass from Shamsher from the right flank to Akashdeep on the edge of the D. Akashdeep is blocked just as he looks to enter the D. No foul give though.
Another ball passed into the Welsh D for Akashdeep who, instead of controlling it, goes for the kill on the first touch but he is unable to get proper contact on it.
Game time. Wales takes the pushback, playing from left to right. And straight away, Welsh goalkeeper Reynolds-Cotterill is forced to make a save after a shot from Akashdeep.
7:30PM - Lineups
7:25PM - Here we go. Two teams step onto the pitch - India in blue and Wales in black. Time for the national anthems.
7:16PM - Here’s all you need to know about the various qualification scenarios:
7:05PM - Both Indian and Welsh teams are warming up. Live action shortly. Till then, stay tuned as I bring to you a list of scenarios in which India can directly qualify for the quarterfinals.
6:50PM - The full-time hooter for the England vs Spain match is on. England wins 4-0 which means - India needs to beat Wales by a margin of eight goals to top the group and qualify directly for the quarterfinals.
6:45PM - ICYMI, Netherlands broke the record for most goals by a team in a World Cup match today - READ MORE
6:40PM - England makes it 4-0 with still eight minutes remaining. As things stand, India will need to beat Wales by a margin of at least eight goals to top the group and qualify directly for the quarterfinals.
6:35PM - The England vs Spain is into the final quarter with the score still 2-0 in England’s favour.
6:30PM - PREVIOUS MEETINGS
August 4, 2022: India 4-1 Wales (Commonwealth Games)
April 8, 2018: India 4-3 Wales (Commonwealth Games)
July 25, 2014: India 3-1 Wales (Commonwealth Games)
6:25PM - HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Played: 3 | India: 3 | Wales: 0 | Draw: 0
6:15PM - It is the day when mathematics comes into play. England, the current Group D topper, leads Spain 2-0 in its final game at half-time. If the scoreline remains the same till the full-time hooter, Indian team will have to beat Wales by a margin of six goals to top the group and ensure direct qualification for the quarterfinals. The contest begins at 7PM. Stay tuned as I take you through the pre-match build and also what India will eventually need to do.
PREVIEW (By Uthra Ganesan)
On paper, India will be firm favourite to win, and win big, against Wales in its final Pool D match in Bhubaneswar on Friday. The gap between the two teams is evident in every possible way – ranking, experience, legacy, expectations, support. It’s the last two ones that will be what India coach Graham Reid calls dual-edged swords. That and the danger of crossing the faint, barely visible line between confidence and overconfidence.
SQUADS
India
Wales
After playing their first two league matches in Rourkela, the teams landed in Bhubaneswar on Monday and have been sweating it out at what has virtually been their home for the past few years. The injury to Hardik Singh was a dampener but things are looking better for the youngster for future games. The 15,000-capacity Kalinga Stadium is expected to be packed and while Wales did face the crowd in Rourkela, this would be the first time the Welsh would feel the full force of it, playing against the host.
India to focus on own strengths, go big against Wales
India’s defence has come good against tougher opponents so far in the competition and will be looking to maintain the momentum against Wales without getting complacent. The Indian forward line of Shamsher Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh and Mandeep Singh will be looking to finally find their shots on target although it won’t be easy – the Welsh were overwhelmed in their first two games but not without a gritty defensive display. And India’s penalty corner conversion, the one area of concern for the host, will be tested. As of now, India’s actual win margin requirement will depend on the result of Spain vs England match earlier in the day.
Of course, the best option for India vis-a-vis the other Pool D game would be Spain defeating England. That would not only see Spain leapfrog into second position but also leave India to manage just a win to top the Pool without bothering with the number of goals. Spain has had one win so far but the youthful side has been impressive in its confident and tactical play and will not be an easy opponent for its European rival. At the same time, England’s woes with penalty corners has continued, making any bets on the result of the face-off risky.
When and where will India vs Wales Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup be played?
India vs Wales Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup will be played at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday - January 19, 2023.
At what time will India vs Wales Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup begin?
India vs Wales Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup will begin at 7PM IST.
Where to watch India vs Wales Group D match of the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup?
India vs Wales 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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