India will face New Zealand in a crossover match of the FIH Men’s World Cup on Sunday. Both the teams will be aiming for a win to make it to the quarter-finals. Ahead of the knockout match, the home team’s head coach Graham Reid said that the Kiwis have nothing to lose and the Indian team will be under pressure.
Reid said, “New Zealand have nothing to lose from their point of view and the pressure will be on us. I hope our team hangs and like I said before if we play our best we can be the best team in the world.” Can beat the team too.” Here’s the press conference on the eve of the match.
“As an Australian, I know New Zealand are always tough and we (India) have all the respect for them. I am also confident that we will do our job (and win),” he added.
India are coming into Sunday’s match on the back of a 4-2 below-par win over tournament debutants Wales, which forced them to play in a crossover rather than a straight quarter-final, which they would have finished top of Pool D. Use to live.
India has been waiting for the World Cup trophy for 47 years. India last won the Hockey World Cup trophy in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After this, the Indian team never got a chance to lift any trophy in this global event. Team India won the World Cup last time by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan.
India had beaten New Zealand twice at the Kalinga Stadium in Pro League matches just a few months back and Reid will be hoping the results continue.
“We beat them twice then. Also, our defensive unit is more settled (and better) now than it was then. So, we are looking forward to the match.”
Lack of finishing has been one of the main issues for India in the three pool matches. When asked about this, Reid said, “I agree that we are falling short of the opportunities we create. But I would be more concerned if we didn’t create opportunities. I believe we can Will be better in that aspect as well.”
He said it was disappointing that injured midfielder Hardik Singh was ruled out of the rest of the tournament as he could not recover.
“But it is exciting for Raj Kumar Pal (reserve player) to come in for Hardik. He (Pal) is one of our players for the future. He is in good form. He has silky skills and did a lot of work in defence. Is.”
“Fresh legs are always important in the middle of the tournament. So, it is disappointing to miss out on Hardik but we have enough talent to fill in.”