Paul Revington: If we defend & attack properly, results will be in our favour

The English coach also reflected on facing India and Spain in the group.

England will be playing their opening match of the World Cup against Wales on January 13, 2023. The team are confident of giving their best in the tournament and have come up with a lot of strategies to combat the strong opponents. England is in Pool D along with India, Spain and Wales. The pre-tournament press conference ahead of the tournament was attended by England head coach Paul Revington and captain David Ames.

Experiences with training done so far in Rourkela?

Being in India, the England team has practised a lot on the ground at Rourkela, where their first match is scheduled to take place on Friday against Wales.

Speaking about their preparations captain Ames replied, “The feeling was very good and a nice experience too. Got a chance to play in the stadium in such a magnitude and played a couple of practice games. It’s going to be a cracking match on Friday night.”

What do previous results mean in the upcoming WC?

England have won against the Netherlands in a Pro League match in 2022 and have performed well in the Commonwealth Games as well.

Elaborating on the build-up Ames responded positively, “We had good competitions in the last few months and the team played nicely. Now, after practising in Rourkela, we are excited to give our best in the tournament matches, where the first one is on Friday so the main focus is on that.”

Strategies to defeat India and Spain

India are always a strong opponent for any team in hockey tournaments because of the experienced players and tactics. Spain, also being a young team, have a lot of technically-sound players, who can perform well.

On this Paul Revington stated, “It’ll look cliche if the team focuses on the past results because it’s a World Cup and our next target is on Friday, which is going to be our aim to win with a good performance. If we are able to defend and attack properly in the matches, then surely results will be in our favour.”

Thoughts on Spain, youngest team in the tournament

Spain has always performed well in hockey tournaments with young players and the strategies of attack they use are incredible.

Praising team Spain, coach Revington said, “Maximiliano (Caldas) is very experienced and from a respectful point of view, wherever he goes he’s going to produce a very good team. 

“Spain are traditionally a very good hockey nation and they are inexperienced based on-paper, but their players are technically very strong. The combination of Max and young players will always be an amazing prospect to watch.”

Comment on Mazarelo James, England Goalkeeper

Along with an experienced goalkeeper in England’s team, Ollie Paine, Mazarelo James has secured his position to play in the World Cup for England.

Talking about his skills, Paul Revington stated, “James has done really well being in both the teams, England and Great Britain. He performed well in the Pro League of 2022. 

“After that his training also went very well, so we are fortunate to have such experienced goalkeepers in the team with the WC perspective.

Expectations from Nick Bandurak

The player who played exceptionally well in the last match against India at the Commonwealth Games, Nick Bandurak is going to play an important role in the tournament.

Coach Revington mentioning his skills said, “Nick Bandurak's record last year was absolutely exceptional. His overall abilities to propel, roundedness, way of scoring, and many more. Coming into international hockey at such a late age in his career is really incredible and all credit goes to him. He continues to get stronger by competing in international games.”

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