Rourkela, Jan 14 (PTI) Head coach Graham Reid said England will be a tougher opponent than Spain, whom India beat 2-0 in their FIH World Cup opener, and the home team will face no defeat in their second group match on Sunday. The lack cannot leave.
Local player Amit Rohidas and midfielder Hardik Singh scored in India’s victory on Friday. A win against fifth-ranked England will take India one step closer to the quarter-finals as beating Wales in the last Pool D match will not be difficult.
India is sixth and Wales is 15th in the world rankings.
Reid said, “We will be up against England in the next match and it will be a tough match as their team is ranked higher than us. We know how tough the England team is in the Commonwealth Games. ,
Reid said, “So we will try to continue this performance (of the Spain match). We did very well in defense against Spain, we have to keep it going. ,
Captain Harmanpreet Singh also agreed that England would be a very strong side and the home side would have to play their best hockey to beat them.
He said, “We are focusing on one match at a time. The match against Spain is done and our focus is on England and we are planning for that. ,
Harmanpreet said, “Getting penalty corners is very important and we can do better by converting penalty corners. We hope to do better in this. ,
However, this drag-flicker could not bring out his best against Spain. He said, “Once again we will need a team effort. The players who could not perform well on some day, we have to compensate for their performance as well. ,
Rohidas started learning hockey from Pamposh Sports Hostel in Rourkela. He said that playing according to the team’s plan on the field would be the key to win the match.
He said, “I started playing hockey here and it is a great feeling to play on the home ground. The support we got from the crowd boosted our morale a lot but once we are on the pitch, we try to focus on the match. ,
Rohidas said, “It is a team effort and it is because of the team that I got the opportunity to score in front of the home crowd. My family members were also involved in this. We are not under pressure and it will be important for our success to play according to the team’s plan on the field. ,
Credit: bharat.republicworld.com /