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Hockey World Cup 2023: Pool C and D previews

India, who are in Pool D, will take on Spain in their first match on January 13

india-hockey-salil-bera The Indian hockey team practises at the Birsa Munda stadium ahead of the World Cup, in Rourkela | Salil Bera

Pool C (Chile, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand) and Pool D (England, India, Spain, Wales) round off the four groups at the upcoming FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Odisha. India's first match is against Spain and will be played at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on January 13 at 7pm. Two days later, India will be up against England at the same venue. They will take on Wales in Bhubaneswar on January 19.

Here's a look at the teams in Pool C and D:

POOL C

Chile

On January 28, 2022, Chile secured qualification for the FIH Men’s World Cup for the first time in their history. A 3-1 victory over Mexico in the cross-over phase of the 2022 Men’s Pan American Cup, being played on home soil in Santiago, had set up a winner-takes-all semifinal meeting with the USA.

It proved to be a match of huge tension, with neither team being able to break the deadlock before Chile emerged victorious in the shootout. Chilean goalkeeper Adrian Henriquez was beaten just once in the one-on-ones, with Juan Amoroso, Franco Becerra and Kay Gesswein netting the goals to seal a place in the event final and the all-important World Cup ticket that came with it. The team were well beaten in the competition final, with Argentina storming to a 5-1 victory, but it mattered little.

In October 2022, Chile claimed their fourth silver medal at the South American Games in Luque, Paraguay, being defeated again by Argentina but scoring an incredible 53 goals in just five matches. The team is captained by Fernando Renz and coached by Jorge Dabanch.

Malaysia

Malaysia will compete in their third successive FIH Men’s World Cup competition thanks to a fine second place finish at the 2022 Men’s Hockey Asia Cup. The Speedy Tigers were in outstanding form at the event in Jakarta, Indonesia, reaching the competition final without losing any of their six matches to secure their World Cup ticket before eventually going down 2-1 to Korea in the gold medal game.

The team featured in two competitions in the latter part of 2022, winning the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on home soil with a 3-2 victory over Korea before losing 4-0 to the same opponent in the bronze medal match at the inaugural FIH Hockey Men's Nations Cup South Africa 2022.

Known for their distinctive brand of high-paced attacking hockey, Malaysia – coached by Arul Anthoni, who represented the country as a player at the 1998 FIH Men’s World Cup in Utrecht, Netherlands – are certainly capable of hurting any team that they play against. Razie Rahim is a potent weapon from penalty corner situations, while Faiz Jali, Firhan Ashari and Azuan Hasan bring a wealth of international experience to the table.

Netherlands

Under head coach Jeroen Delmee, the legendary Dutch defender who as a player won two Olympic gold medals, the Netherlands have found a consistency in their performance levels which has already started to reap rewards. Since taking charge in the latter part of 2021, Delmee has injected a significant amount of fresh talent into the Oranje squad.

The young guns rose to the challenge in style, winning 12 of their 16 matches in the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League to win the title for the first time. Captain Thierry Brinkman and striker Koen Bijen top scored for the Netherlands with seven goals apiece, with six goals coming from both Dennis Warmerdam and penalty corner ace Jip Janssen. Thanks to their excellent form, two Dutchmen, who are also a part of the World Cup squad, earned nominations for the FIH Hockey Stars Awards for 2021-22, with captain Brinkman shortlisted for the Best Men’s Player prize while Pirmin Blaak was selected for the Best Goalkeeper award.

Having suffered painful defeats in the last two FIH Men’s World Cup finals, the Netherlands will be aiming to make it third time lucky this time around and win a fourth world crown, a feat only Pakistan have managed to achieve.

New Zealand

New Zealand are all set to compete in their 11th FIH Men’s World Cup, with the Odisha event being their seventh in succession. They are yet to finish higher than seventh, a placing they have achieved on four separate occasions, but that could all change this time around.

The Black Sticks are always a force to be reckoned with, being blessed with some genuinely world class players amongst their ranks. Blair Tarrant is a fine defender who has represented his country more than 230 times, while the likes of veteran striker Simon Child, Sam Lane, and penalty corner weapon Kane Russell are all goal threats. Highly regarded defensive midfielder Nick Ross makes a return to the team after taking a break throughout 2022, while 19-year-old debutant defender Charlie Morrison will be relishing the opportunity to show his talents on the big stage after gaining selection.

The team is coached by former South Africa striker Greg Nicol, who represented his country at the Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games as well as the 2002 FIH Men’s World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

POOL D

England

Having participated in every edition of the FIH Men’s World Cup, England are always capable of achieving great things. They have reached the semifinals of the last three World Cup competitions but missed the podium on each occasion. That is something they will be desperate to change this time around, as they aim to secure a first FIH Men’s World Cup medal since grabbing silver at the 1986 event on home soil in Willesden, London. They certainly have a very good squad of players, but first need to navigate their way out of a tricky pool that contains home favourites India, in-form Spain, and neighbours Wales.

England – coached by Paul Revington, former head coach of South Africa and Malaysia men and assistant coach to Great Britain women – were outstanding at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, with striker Nick Bandurak finishing as the competition’s top scorer with 11 goals as his team snatched the bronze medal. Only one team managed to defeat the Englishmen in that competition, with the mighty Australia – a side that have only ever won gold in the Commonwealths – overturning a two-goal deficit in the semi-final to triumph 3-2. Captain Zach Wallace, midfield ace Phil Roper and attacker Sam Ward were all key players in Birmingham and will be hoping to replicate that form in Odisha. If they do, the sky is the limit.

India

After years of sliding down the FIH World Rankings which culminated in failure to qualify for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 – a competition that they had won a record eight times – India are back at the top table of the global game. A bronze medal at the delayed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was a landmark moment for the team, who followed it up with a third-place finish in the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League.

Head coach Graham Reid is getting the best out of the group, injecting a tactical discipline to their trademark skilful, fluid playing style, making them a team both respected and feared in equal measure. The star of the show is Harmanpreet Singh, a fabulous defender and one of the best drag flickers in the game, who has also taken on the mantle of captain for the team. Meanwhile, goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, midfield ace Manpreet Singh and striker Mandeep Singh are all capable of game-changing moments on their own as well.

Despite the undeniable pressure that comes with being the competition hosts, this India team has all the attributes needed to claim their first FIH Men’s World Cup title since 1975.

Spain

Known for their flair, skill, and attacking prowess, the Red Sticks men are one of the most talented and unpredictable teams out there, having proven on countless occasions that, on their day, they can mix it with the very best teams in the world. As well as having rare talents such as electrifying attacker Enrique Gonzalez, experienced midfielder Marc Miralles and classy captain Alvaro Iglesias, they are also blessed with a revered head coach in Max Caldas, who enjoyed terrific success with the Netherlands women and men, guiding the former to World Cup and Olympic glory and the latter to two European Championship titles.

In August 2022, the Red Sticks showed strong form at the recent EuroHockey Championship Qualifier competition on home soil in Orense, beating Czech Republic, Portugal, and Poland to seal their ticket to the 2023 EuroHockey Championship. The team scored 20 times without conceding in that competition, with Pau Cunill (Rising Star nominee – FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2021-22), Iglesias and former Argentina international and 2016 Olympic gold medallist Joaquin Menini each scoring three times.

They followed that success with a superb start to their 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League campaign by going unbeaten in their first four games, claiming notable victories over New Zealand and Pool C rivals India in matches that took place in the World Cup host city of Bhubaneswar.

Wales

After decades of trying, Wales finally secured a first ever FIH Men’s World Cup qualification thanks to a tournament winning display at the European Qualification event on home soil in Cardiff. After claiming a 2-0 win against Italy in their quarter-final, Wales went head-to-head with Ireland, with the winner taking not only a place in the competition final but also one of the two World Cup tickets on offer at the event.

Wales fell behind in the very first minute of the match when Michael Robson fired home, but Joe Naughalty’s equaliser early in the second quarter proved to be enough to send the match to a winner-takes-all shoot-out. Successful efforts from Rupert Shipperley and Jack Pritchard gave Wales a 2-1 lead ahead of the final round, with goalkeeper Toby Reynolds-Cotterill doing enough to deny Ireland’s Lee Cole and create a moment of Welsh sporting history.

The team finished the competition on a glorious high by recording a 2-1 victory over higher ranked France, fighting back from a goal down thanks to goals from Luke Hawker and Shipperley, the latter arriving just five minutes from the end.

Current Great Britain internationals Shipperley and Jacob Draper are both key players for Wales, as is penalty corner specialist Gareth Furlong, who is a regular source of goals. Despite being one of the lowest ranked teams in this competition, Wales have proven themselves more than capable of punching above their weight and are certainly not here to make up the numbers. 

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