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England is ranked 4th on the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) ranking. Considering their inconsistent and sometimes mediocre performance, they are rated above their worth. So is India.
India’s 8th rank is also not deserved. Seeing them play against the Belgians yesterday was heart breaking. India could have done better...much better.
In the first half, the forwards were total non-performers and the mid-field, woefully ineffective. For the first 20 minutes, the Belgians ran riot and an astonishingly excessive number of soft turnovers accorded to the Belgians was abysmal.
The Indians will enter the field against the English as definite underdogs. But, I feel that India will win. This prediction is sentimental wishful thinking. But, what’s the harm? I’m reaching out to the eternal hope, hoping for a miracle of sorts.
This is how I envisage the match to be played out:
India will come out with all guns blazing. England will employ deep defense tactics but will find it exceedingly difficult to maintain any worthwhile possession.
The talent in the midfield and the forward line will finally show up and we are very likely to see a vintage India dominate the early proceedings.
This period should be productive for India, and in all likelihood India will go into the mid-break ahead of England by at least 1 goal.
Having done early damage, the second half will see a more sedate and settled India trying to keep possession for prolonged periods and attacking on the counter with some success. Eventually, India would have registered an emphatic victory against the English.
If it does not happen as per my wishes above, and the English manage to win or tie the match, I’ll have to stop predicting and go back to hoping that one day, maybe one day, India will start playing to their potential.
Over the years, the consistently sub-par Indian performance has made a dreamer out of me.
And, if I were to be correct, I’m buying a lottery ticket with a realistic chance at winning!
