The Indian men’s team received a huge blow in the race to qualify for the Hockey World Cup semi-finals as they went down 1-3 to the Netherlands in Amstelveen on Saturday. Coming up against the Olympic champions, playing at home, Harmanpreet Singh’s goal was not enough to save India’s day. It has left them facing an uphill task. The Netherlands now have six points in Pool E (they carried over three points from the previous stage) after their win over India and are through to the semi-finals. The Harmanpreet Singh-led India have 0 points (they did not carry over any points from the previous round).
Argentina (0 points) and England (who also carried over three points from the previous round) are the other two teams in Pool E. This time, the point-carry format has made things interesting. In Pool D, England beat India 4-2, while in Pool A, the Netherlands beat Argentina 3-1. Both teams won by a two-goal margin. Hence, England and the Netherlands carried forward three points each from the first stage.
India’s equation
Now, after the loss to the Netherlands, India’s fate is not in their hands. They must first hope that England do not beat or draw against Argentina on Saturday night. A draw will knock India out, while an England win will knock both Argentina and Harmanpreet Singh and Co. out.
If Argentina beat England by a two-goal margin, then both teams will have three points each and a goal difference of 0. Then, India must hope the Netherlands beat England on Monday, which will keep the latter on three points. If these tough equations fall into place, the job will still not be easy. India will then have to beat Argentina by a huge margin to have a shot at the semi-finals. Currently, the equation looks tough.
Talking about the match, after a barren first two quarters, the Netherlands scored three field goals through Duco Telgenkamp (41st minute), Tjep Hoedemakers (51st) and Thijs van Dam (55th).
India’s lone goal was scored by skipper Harmanpreet Singh from a penalty corner in the 52nd minute