Last time India host an FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, in 2010, they finished eighth after losing the seventh-eighth place play-off to Argentina. Since then, India have won some tournaments – mostly continental – and missed out on some.
In the next edition, India dropped one more place to finish ninth in the Netherlands. And it was just another chapter in the story of Indian hockey's seemingly 'unstoppable' fall. Since winning the World Cup in 1975, India have finished 6th, 5th, 12th, 10th 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 8th, 9th – failing to go beyond the quarter-final stage in each of those 10 editions.
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And now, a young Indian team finds itself in a good position to break that jinx and go for the ultimate glory. But first, they will need to pass a stern Dutch test in front of a home crowd, who have stood for the team in the worst of times.
All You Need To Know About The Match:
Match: India vs Netherlands, 2018 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup quarter-final 4.
Date: December 13 (Thursday)
Time: 7:00 PM IST
Venue: The Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
TV Guide: Star Sports Network, Doordarshan in India; NOS in the Netherlands; BT Sport in England; Fox Sports & Kayo Sports in Australia; Play Sports & beTV/VOO in Belgium; DAZN in Germany
Live streaming: FIH official YouTube Channel, Hotstar
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Key stats:
- Last time India and Netherlands faced each the match had ended in a 1-1 draw (2018 Champions Trophy)
- India have never beaten the Netherlands in the World Cup.
- In six World Cup meetings, the Netherlands have won five while one ended in a draw.
- Head-to-head: In 105 meetings, the Netherlands have won 48 while India won 33.
- Best finish: India (1975 winners; 1973 runners-up; 1971 third); Netherlands (1973, 1990, 1998 winners; 1978, 1994, 2014 runners-up; 2002, 2010 third)
- Rankings: Netherlands - 4th; India - 5th
- Top scorers in this World Cup: 3 goals each for Thierry Brinkman and Jeroen Hertzberger (Netherlands), Simranjeet Singh and Lalit Upadhyay (India)
Squads:
India: PR Sreejesh, Krishna Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Manpreet Singh (c), Chinglensana Kangujam, Shanglakpam Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Simranjeet Singh.
The Netherlands - Jeroen Hertzberger, Lars Balk, Thijs van Dam, Jonas de Geus, Jorrit Croon, Billy Bakker, Seve van Ass (C), Valentin Verga, Glenn Schuurman, Sander de Wijn, Sander Baart, Robbert Kemperman, Mirco Pruijser, Bob de Voogd, Sam van der Ven, Thierry Brinkman, Pirmin Blaak, Mink van der Weerden
