Hockey World Cup 2018, India vs Canada, Preview: India Seek Win To Top League Table
India are on top of Pool C currently and will be keen to keep their position intact.
Highlights
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India will be up against Canada in their final pool encounter on Saturday
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India defeated South Africa in their opening match of the World Cup
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India were held to a 2-2 draw against Belgium
The Indian men's hockey team that remained unbeaten after a thrilling draw against Belgium in their previous match Hockey World Cup 2018 match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar will aim to keep their top spot in Pool C intact when they take on Canada in their final league encounter on Saturday. India are presently on top of group with four points but Belgium, with the same number of points and separated only by goal difference, will be keeping a keen eye on proceedings. The home team will look for a convincing win when they take on 11th ranked Canada and maintain the top spot to earn a direct qualification to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
India got off to a solid start in the tournament with a thumping 5-0 win against South Africa. In the second match, the Manpreet Singh-led team was held to a 2-2 draw against World No. 3 Belgium. Harmanpreet Singh and Simranjeet Singh were the scorers for India.
With the next match against lower ranked team, the likes of Mandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh will look to improve their performance ahead of the knock-out stages.
On the other hand, Canada are currently placed third in the group. After suffering a 1-2 defeat against Belgium in their opening match, Canada played a 1-1 draw against South Africa.
The match between India and Canada starts at 19:00 IST.
Squads
India: Manpreet Singh (C), PR Sreejesh (GK), Krishna Bahadur Pathak (GK), Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Simranjeet Singh.
Canada - Scott Tupper (C), David Carter (GK), Antoni Kindler (GK), Brandon Pereira, Gordon Johnston, Keegan Pereira, Matthew Sarmento, Iain Smythe, James Kirkpatrick, Oliver Scholfield, Mark Pearson, Sukhi Panesarbc, Gabe Ho-Garcia, John Smythe, Richard Hildreth, Brednen Bissett, Jamie Wallace, Balraj Panesar