India’s semifinal hopes hang by a thread after Netherlands loss

India still harbours chances of advancing to the semifinals of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup but they would need to triumph over Argentina by a huge margin and for other results to go their way, Hockey India reports.

India lost to defending champions Netherlands 3-1 on Saturday, leaving them pointless at the end of stage two, at the bottom of the table on goal difference. Harmanpreet Singh got his name on the scorecard, but Netherlands prevailed on account of two late goals.

India plays their last encounter in Pool E against Argentina on Monday. India to stand any chance of reaching the semis, they must win the game by at least three goals, and further need a Netherlands win against England in the other game to proceed further, as per recent qualifying formats.

The complications were born due to the tournament being organised in a new format, devoid of a knockout stage from a quarterfinal round. As the top two sides of Pools E and F go to the semi-finals, the team with the better goal difference among all of them will take the place in the last two remaining slots. Performance of the first rounds was also carried forward in portions, making other results and goal difference significant.

India, who earlier finished second in Pool D where they beat Pakistan 5-3 in the latter’s opening encounter in group play, had entered the stage two with considerable pressure.

All hope of a semifinal appearance seems to rest on how India fare against Argentina in a must-win tie, and the same against other England against the Netherlands.