India 3-3 Belgium (3-4) Highlights, FIH Men's Hockey World Cup: Vanasch's Brilliance Earns Belgians Win; IND Finish 8th

An absolute thriller of a classification match comes to a close as veteran goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch proves to be the ultimate hero for Belgium, steering the co-hosts to a 4-3 penalty shootout victory (3-3 in regulation time). While India will be bitterly disappointed to miss out on seventh place after fighting back so valiantly on foreign soil, the partisan home crowd can celebrate a dramatic victory well into the night.

The dramatic penalty shootout begins with a bizarre moment as India's Harmanpreet Singh hesitates, expecting a whistle that never comes, but is granted a second opportunity—only to see his initial attempt pushed away by veteran Belgian goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch. Tom Boon capitalizes immediately with a smooth reverse-hit to put Belgium ahead, before Sukhjeet Singh has his attempt saved as well. Belgium suffers its first miss when Foubert scoops his effort over the crossbar, allowing Shilanand Lakra to get India on the board. Arthur de Sloover sends Indian custodian Mohith HS the wrong way to sound the board, but Dilpreet Singh responds calmly to level the score once more. Pressure mounts when Mohith fouls Van Dessel, conceding a penalty stroke that Alexander Hendrickx clinically converts. Abhishek keeps India alive by scoring just in time, but Roman Duvekot finds the back of the net next. Though India sends the decision upstairs for a referral, the video umpire lets the goal stand, sealing a 4-3 shootout victory for Belgium (after a 3-3 draw in regulation) to take the match.

Regulation time ends with nothing separating the two sides after a thrilling contest, sending the match straight to a penalty shootout to decide the winner.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh comes up clutch once again, converting a crucial penalty corner to net his second goal of the match and pull India level right at the death to force a dramatic penalty shootout.

Abhishek goes down under pressure as he manages to get a shot away, but veteran Belgian goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch stands tall to make a crucial save. In a desperate throw of the dice, India pulls its goalkeeper off the field, playing with 11 outfield players in search of a late equalizer.

Belgium retains possession and mounts another dangerous attacking wave, leaving India with its backs against the wall. Before the men in saffron can even think about finding an equalizer, they must somehow break through the relentless, suffocating press of the Belgian defense.

Belgium reclaims the lead as Arthur de Sloover smacks a shot into the back of the net. The on-field umpire immediately refers the play upstairs to check if the ball struck the scorer's body, but the video umpire finds no infringement to overturn the call, letting the goal stand and putting the hosts back in front.

India suffers a major injury blow as veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh goes down in agony, struck in the face by what appeared to be a fierce shot from Hugo Labouchere. Bleeding from a cut above his left eye, Manpreet is forced to walk off the pitch assisted by the medical team.

With the score locked at 2-2, it is all to play for in the final quarter. Harmanpreet Singh's strike has successfully brought India back on level terms, setting up a tense finish where the next goal will likely decide the match.

Belgium earns its ninth penalty corner of the match, but Suraj Karkera stands firm to deny them once more. Karkera initially blocks the shot, and as the loose ball threatens to trickle agonizingly across the goal line, he reacts brilliantly with a backward no-look kick to clear the danger—though the scramble yields yet another penalty corner for the hosts. Moments later, Belgium puts the ball in the back of the net again, but the goal is promptly disallowed after India successfully refers the play for danger due to the excessive height of the drag-flick.

India seemingly draws level as captain Harmanpreet Singh scores with a seamless drag-flick, but Belgium immediately sends the decision upstairs to the video umpire. The challenge centers on whether Sukhjeet Singh obstructed the first-rusher's view. Ultimately, the goal is allowed to stand, India retains its referral, and Victor Wegnez is left visibly frustrated by the call.

At the end of the second quarter, Belgium holds a 2-1 lead over India, capitalising quickly in front of their home supporters to seize control of the match. With just a single goal separating the two sides, the contest remains wide open heading into the second half. Stay tuned for all the live action after the break.

Belgium continues to press on the counter-attack as Stockbroekx unleashes a sharp reverse-hit, but Mohith HS stands tall to make the save. Moments later, the Belgian pressure yields a penalty corner, but Mohith denies them once more with another crucial block.

Belgium turns the scoreline on its head in a matter of minutes as Hugo Labouchere unleashes a searing drag-flick from a penalty corner, leaving Indian custodian Mohith HS completely beaten by the sheer velocity of the shot to snatch the lead.

Belgium draws level after a sharp pass is driven into the Indian circle, finding Roman Duvekot right in front of goal. Duvekot applies a subtle touch before flicking the ball past the onrushing Indian goalkeeper to find the back of the net.

India successfully earns its first penalty corner of the match after Hardik Singh fires a ball toward Rajinder Singh, who goes down under a challenge from Alexander Hendrickx, prompting a successful video referral. From the ensuing set-piece, captain Harmanpreet Singh unleashes a venomous drag-flick, but the Belgian first-rusher closes down quickly to block the attempt.

Belgium carves open the Indian defense as an unmarked Stockbroekx receives the ball and unleashes a powerful shot goalward, but goalkeeper Mohith HS comes up with a crucial stop to deny the equalizer.

Belgium mounts immediate pressure with three consecutive penalty corners, but the Indian defense holds firm. Goalkeeper Suraj Karkera turns away the first two attempts with sharp saves, while the third breaks down due to a botched trap at the top of the circle, leading to a blocked shot. The danger continues moments later when Tom Boon connects cleanly on a volley, his strike fizzing dangerously past the far post as the opening quarter comes to a close.

India has been hit with a major penalty after inadvertently having 12 players on the pitch, resulting in captain Harmanpreet Singh receiving a yellow card and being forced to serve a five-minute suspension on the sidelines.

India shifts the point of attack to the left flank, where midfielder Manpreet Singh stretches to trap a difficult ball. Although the sequence successfully carries play into the circle, it ultimately yields no result. At the other end, a Belgian forward drives down the left side into the Indian D before going down to the turf.

The first quarter is underway in Wavre, where a chilly matchday atmosphere is tempered by brief spells of sunshine ahead of the pushback. Despite this fixture being limited to the seventh-eighth place classification, energetic home supporters have turned out in full voice, determined to rally behind their squad and avoid an eighth-place finish in a home World Cup.

Led by Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian men's hockey team initially secured a strong start by finishing in the top two of their group stage. However, consecutive second-round defeats to Argentina and the Netherlands derailed their campaign, leaving the squad to fight for a maximum finish of seventh place.

Arthur van Doren (c), Arno van Dessel, Thibeau Stockbroekx, Maxime van Oost, Alexander Hendrickx, Hugo Labouchere, Vincent Vanasch, Arthur de Sloover, Victor Wegnez, Tom Boon, Nelson Onana

Indian viewers can catch the India vs Netherlands Hockey World Cup clash live on Star Sports, which holds the tournament’s television rights in India. The match will be available across the network’s SD and HD channels. For fans preferring digital coverage, the game will be streamed live on JioHotstar, allowing viewers to follow the action on the go. The 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup is being broadcast in India through JioStar’s Star Sports network and JioHotstar platform.

Historically, the head-to-head matchup heavily favors the European side. Across 37 previous encounters between the two teams, India has secured 9 wins, while Belgium has proven to be the dominant force with 22 victories. Over the course of these fixtures, India has scored 72 goals against Belgium's 91.

Greetings, we are back with another live blog -- India vs Belgium second round match of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup. Stay tuned for live updates.