And here comes the Dutch attack! Netherlands hit the side net from inside the circle! They are playing on their home soil. That's a big psychological advantage. They also get a PC in the 13th minute.

India have kept the ball well and need to maintain shape early on. The pressure of winning will play a part but the clarity of circumstance must aid them. As we write this, India created from the right flank. But the forward could not control the ball in the circle.

Ouch! That will hurt Manpreet Singh! The veteran India star has copped a blow on the hip after a slap shot by a rival. He is okay to continue! 

The match has begun in Amstelveen. India have donned their white jerseys against the Netherlands, who are wearing their customary orange outfit.

Jip Janssen, Lars Balk, Jonas de Geus, Thijs van Dam, Thierry Brinkman (captain), Justen Blok, Derck de Vilder, Floris Wortelboer, Derk Meijer, Duco Telgenkamp and Floris Middendorp start for the Netherlands.

The Indian Men's Team's Starting XI is locked in for a crucial Round 2 clash against the Netherlands at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026.

This is a must-win battle for us.

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— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 22, 2026

Harmanpreet is the tournament's top scorer with five goals to his name, the ace drag flicker will be on the Dutch team's radar, but he feels that India has more weapons to surprise them. "There is no pressure; rather, there is clarity that we have to win it. There is no other way. It's a do-or-die match for us. Individually also I am not feeling any pressure. I will do what I have been doing for years now. If they are focusing of me, we have other weapons too to surprise them," he said.

India had defeated Netherlands 3-2 in the last match of FIH Pro League 2025-26 season in June and India captain harmanpreet Sinngh feels that his team can do it again provided they stick to the game plan and play smartly.
 

In Pool D, England beat India 4-2 while in Pool A, Netherlands beat Argentina 3-1. Both teams won with a two-goal difference. Hence, England and Netherlands are carrying forward three points each as well as a 2 goal difference. This make things very tricky for India and Argentina. Nothing less than a win will work for Harmanpreet SIngh and Co.  

The Hockey World Cup format this time is interesting. England and Netherlands have three points each and a positive goal difference of 2. While, India and Argentina have 0 points each and a goal difference of -2. This is because, according to the current rules, the teams progressing to Round 2 from the pool stage only carry forward points and goal difference earned against the other advancing side from their initial pool.

A look at India's performance so far: 

India were placed in Pool D in the first stage alongside England, Pakistan and Wales. India beat Wales 3-1, then lost to England 2-4 before beating arch-rivals Pakistan 5-3. The one loss hurt India bad in more ways than one as they finished second. 

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the India vs Netherlands men's hockey World Cup match. Whether or not India progress to the next round will depend a lot on the result of this match.