Hockey World Cup 2018 highlights: India holds Belgium to 2-2 draw
Hockey World Cup 2018: India vs Belgium: Harmanpreet Singh and Simranjeet Singh scored in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Olympic silver medallist Belgium who scored through Alexander Hendrickx and Simon Gougnard at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.
Published : Dec 02, 2018 18:41 IST
| Good evening, welcome to Sportstar 's minute-by-minute blog of the Hockey World Cup 2018 Pool C match of India vs Belgium. |
FULL-TIME: India 2-2 Belgium
60' Belgium opts for a pushback by sending in a 11th out field player but India's attacks in the final seconds through Dilpreet and Simranjeet and Belgium survives the scare in the dying minutes.
56' GOAL BELGIUM! Simon Gougnard gets the Red Lions into the game. A series of passes inside the Indian area reaches the veteran forward whose reverse hit beats Sreejesh.
54' The Kalinga Stadium is rocking looking at this young Indian side's performance! Sumit makes a superb tackle to dispossess Van Doren just outside the Belgian circle and darts towards the goal but loses his balance on the edge of the circle.
47' SIMRANJEET GIVES INDIA THE LEAD! A superb dribble by Kothajit from the left side has the Belgian defence under immense pressure and his pass at the far post is finished by Simranjeet at the far post. This is special from India, which is clearly bossing the game now.
Third Quarter
45' Varun Kumar makes a superb tackle and lobs it over the Belgian defence to Lalit making the run. But the ball is too high to be counted as an attack inside the circle.
43' India has clearly flown out of the blocks in the third quarter and Belgium is looking hesitant with their approach. And at the heart of everything is skipper Manpreet Singh--- tackling, passing, dribbling his way through the central midfield.
39' INDIA EQUALISES! As cool as you like it! Harmanpreet Singh steps up and places it into the boards in the right corner. India 1-1 Belgium
39' PENALTY STROKE FOR INDIA!
38' A beautiful passage of play sees India brings out the ball from the back within six passes and Nilakanta Sharma earns his team the second penalty corner of the match.
37' Indian skipper Manpreet Singh ask for referral after he says that the ball touched a Belgian foot and India keeps the referral.
35' Penalty corner for India! The crowd is on its feet and Harmanpreet's dragflick does not have enough pace on it despite placing it at the left top corner. But Belgian keeper Vincent Vanasch's razor sharp reflexes come to the fore in keeping the shot out.
33' A lively start to the third quarter by India as the players seem to have understood the coach's words. Harmanpreet's long ball from the deep is controlled well by Akashdeep and threads it to Dilpreet at the near post. But the teenager finishing is not on point.
| Coach Harendra Singh's half-time analysis: We are trying to attack through the sides, we need to target the central area more. |
HALF-TIME: India 0-1 Belgium
Second Quarter
30' The frailties within the Indian defence are evident as a diagonal ball from the midfield reaches Tom Boon who tries a cheeky back-flick on the run. Sreejesh is alert though, closing down the angle very quickly.
28' Indian players are unable to get their first touch right which is leading to a string of misplaced passes.
| Trivia: Nine players in the current Indian squad won the 2016 Junior Hockey World Cup, Lucknow where they defeated Belgium 2-1 in the final. |
25' Hardik makes a crucial block to deny Belgium a second goal and Sreejesh is off his line to mop up the loose ball.
21' Lalit misses a close chance after being played on from the right flank. Coach Harendra Singh shows his displeasure on the sidelines.
18' Sumit goes on a superb run as he beats three Belgian midfielders showcasing some impressive stick work, but his one-two with Lalit Kumar Upadhyay is cut out by Belgium.
India midfielder Hardik Singh's family will be cheering him on from the stands up
First Quarter
15' WHAT A MISS BY MANDEEP! India shows what it is capable as Dilpreet plays on Mandeep at the near post with a back pass after receiving a pass from Birendra Lakra from the midfield. But the 21-year old forward tries a weak push which rolls out of the play.
12' India attacks through Akashdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh combination ,but Beglium defenders are upto the task and repel the host's attacks.
8' GOAL BELGIUM! Alexander Hendrickx scores through the legs of Sreejesh with a measured finish.
8' Belgium review successfully for the second time and win a third penalty corner of the game. Tom Boon stands over.
7' India has its first attack through Chinglensana's pass from outside the penalty area which is easily dealt by the Belgian defence.
| Trivia: The previous encounter between India and Belgium came in 2018 Champions Trophy in June, which ended in a 1-1 draw. |
4' Akashdeep tries to play on Mandeep on the left but the Belgium midfielders are well-placed to regain the possession.
3' The Red Lions has India pinned in its own half with a fast-passing game.
2' Back-to-back penalty corners for Belgium as Van Doren's shot hits Manpreet's foot. The second drag-flick is saved Sreejesh.
1' Belgium starts the proceedings! Belgium asks for a review in the first minute as the ball seemed to have touched Surender Kumar's foot inside the penalty area.
The players take to the pitch for the national anthems!
HEAD-TO-HEAD since 2013: Total: 19 | Belgium: 13 | India: 5 | Draw: 1
The Hockey World Cup fever has gripped Bhubaneswar and fans are thronging at the Kalinga Stadium in numbers to see Indian team in action against mighty Belgium.
Belgium, on the other hand, comes into this game with a 2-1 win over plucky Canada and you can find out how that match unfolded over here.
India got its World Cup campaign off to a rollicking start with a 5-0 win against South Africa. This is how that match unfolded.
Both India and Belgium have had a three-day break to reassess their performances and prepare for a match that could well decide which team tops Pool C. Here's our preview of the game .