Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 Preview: India, England to battle for top spot in Group D

The hosts will look to secure qualification for the knockouts with a win.

Team India will continue its Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 campaign by facing England after starting off with a win against Spain. The upcoming match at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Sunday is sure to be an exciting one.

Both teams are entering the fixture with a win in their opening match of the World Cup campaign. They are favourites to qualify out of Group D and direct competitors for the top spot. Finishing top of the group will ensure direct qualification into the quarter-final.

Here is what to expect from England vs India in the Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 Group D fixture:

The Stakes

England is the highest-ranked team in Group D and strong favourites to win the group. They started their World Cup 2023 campaign in style, defeating Wales by 5-0 in the opener. Paul Revington’s men were in fabulous touch. Defeating India will give them a huge chance of finishing as group winners and directly making it into the quarter-final stage of the tournament.

India will be under pressure when they come up against England in their next game. Graham Reid will hope that his men can replicate the performance that got them a 2-0 win against Spain. The Englishmen are ranked fifth in the world, one place above the Indians and stronger on paper. However, the Indian players will hope to absorb the energy from the fans who will support them wholeheartedly. A win will put the hosts in the driving seat to finish on top of Group D.

Team News

Both outfits are free of major injuries. Tacticians on both ends will have full squads at their disposal. 

Head to Head

Total Matches Played - 135

India won - 26

Draws - 23

England won - 86

Probable Lineups

England

Ollie Payne (GK), Nicholas Park, Jack Waller, David Ames, James Albery, Zach Wallace, David Goodfield, Tom Sorsby, Sam Ward, Liam Ansell, and Will Calnan.

India

P.R. Sreejesh (GK), Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Shamsher Singh, Varun Kumar, Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas and Sukhjeet Singh.

Players to Watch

Liam Ansell (England)

Liam Ansell leads the English forward line with confidence and courage. He scored a brace in the 5-0 win over Wales. If the Indian defence is not careful, then Ansell can cause them a lot of problems. Both of his goals came from penalty corner situations and the Indian defence must not give England and Ansell chances to strike from the edge of the circle. This will be the key battle to watch in India vs England game.

Hardik Singh (India)

Hardik Singh was sensational against Spain. He scored a fabulous second goal of the game that put India in a strong position. The midfielder has incredible pace with the ball and can cause plenty of problems from the left flank. England will try to keep a close watch on Singh and keep him silent when the two teams clash.

Did You Know?

• Nick Bandurak of England finished as the top scorer with 11 goals at the men’s tournament in Commonwealth Games 2022.
• England is yet to win the World Cup while India has won it once in the past.

Telecast

The match between England and India will take place at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Sunday (15 January 2023). The live broadcast will begin at 7:00 PM IST on Star Sports 2, Star Sports First, and Star Sports Select 2 HD.