Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: 5 teams with the best attack

When summing up his hockey philosophy in an earlier interview with Sportskeeda, Indian coach Harendra Singh stressed on the fact that modern hockey is all about propelling the ball into the opponent's half in an effort to score rapidly, rather than holding back cautiously for the most part, and waiting for the opposition to err.

"European teams (like Holland) have learned a lesson from Australia. Holland lost 1-6 to Australia (in the 2014 World Cup final). The coaches realized that if you set up camp in your territory and keep waiting for chances to create counter-attacks, the ploy will not work. Over the last 2 or 3 years, all the teams in the world are playing hockey with a full press."

With the next edition of the World Cup due to start in a week, it will be interesting to see if the more fancied teams decide to go all out in the initial stages or prefer to sit back and gauge the weaknesses of their adversaries before launching an offensive move.

Watching the top teams in the world sink their lesser-fancied counterparts, with a barrage of goals, in tournaments like the continental championships may be spectacular to watch, but it is the ability to split open the best defences in the world in crunch situations which separates the men from the boys.

So, which are the teams, at Bhubaneswar, who will be expected to consistently launch attacks with their dribbles, dodges, shimmies and dummies?

Let's take a close look at five World Cup teams who have the ability to breach the opposition circle, consistently and effectively.

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#5 Argentina

The Olympic champions may well have the best drag flicker in the world, but the PCs need to be earned for Peillat to drive them home.

The wily Lucas Vila and the incredibly talented duo of Agustin Mazzilli and Joquin Memini have dazzled with their spectacular forays in opposition territory, but Augustin Bugallo's spectacular finish against Australia was the talking point of the HWL final at Bhubaneswar last year.

Stringing together a series of super quick one-touch passes is a ploy the South Americans use when the long balls fail to produce results, and even defenders like Pedro Ibarra are seen rattling rivals in the attacking circle before falling back quickly to guard their own.

Matias Paredes loves to display his dribbling skills and get his name on the scoresheet in big matches, as he did at Rio against the Dutch, and against the Australians in the 2014 Champions Trophy at Bhubaneswar.

#4 India

India's lightning quick counter-attacks have the ability to instil a sense of awe and fear in the minds of the opposition, and on paper, Harendra's chargers have an attack which can truly be described as world class. Even with a man short following Ramandeep's injury in the Champions Trophy, the Indian forward line performed admirably against the best teams in the world which speaks volumes about the quality of the side.

Neither Ramandeep, nor SV Sunil (who is, currently the fastest player in the game) will be at Bhubaneswar, but even so, the Indian forward line has a menacing air to it thanks to the outrageous skill of Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, and the young Dilpreet.

Lalit appears to be in fine fettle, as does Simranjeet, and if Manpreet and Chinglensana can feed the men up front consistently, and advance as and when the gaps show up, the adversarial defence will be forced to be on their toes.

#3 Netherlands

The Dutch are fast becoming an attacking unit with flair

It is quite a sight to behold on a hockey pitch when the Orange army advances down both flanks, directing deft passes delivered with pinpoint precision, and penetrate the striking circle en masse. The Dutch have the uncanny ability to keep the goalkeepers guessing until the very last moment and, you never know where the sudden almighty crack at goal is going to emanate from.

When the scathing hits are finally taken, the best custodians in the world are forced to display their acrobatic prowess, but even the saves are deflected in by the likes of Mirco Pruijser whose ability to be at the right place, at the right time has resulted in numerous balls making their way into the netting.

Rival camps may well have worked overtime to devise strategies to counter the potency of Valentin Verga, the weaving runs of Bob de Voogd, and Thijs van Dam's scorching tomahawks, but even if all three marauding strikers are kept at bay, coaches will still need to contend with the best of them all, in the form of Jeroen Hertzberger.

#2 Belgium

Which is the team that can pose a serious challenge to Australia's dream of capturing a third-consecutive World Cup title?

The Red Lions beat Australia in a pool game at Rio and repeated the feat in the semifinal of the HWL Semifinals, at London, last year. What's more, the Olympic silver-medalists beat the Germans by a 6-1 margin in the final of the same tournament, and also got the better of the Dutch in the semifinals at Rio.

For Shane McLeod's Belgian side, the strategy is simple - take the attack to the opposition, paying scant regard to the reputation of the side in question.

As far as the Belgians are concerned, it is not the just the strikers who possess the capability to attack. The defenders can move upfield as well, and do so quite often, with marauding runs that can offset the best-laid plans of great sides Australia and the Netherlands.

Emmanuel Stockbroekx advanced from the back line, and in tandem with Sebastien Dockier and Charlier manufactured an outstanding goal against the Kookaburras at London last year. Cedric Charlier is never short of support in the circle, backed up by the redoubtable Thomas Briels, Van Aubel, and the dangerous Tom Boon.

#1 Australia

No hockey-playing nation, in recent times, has been as consistent as the Australians have, and Colin Batch's defending champions look to be the most complete side in the competition - the men up front, in particular, have proven to be unstoppable over the years.

While it may be argued that the gap between the Kookaburras and the rest of the hockey world is narrowing - and the Aussies are no longer able to brush aside teams like India by huge margins (as they so often did in the past), few can contest the fact that the defending champions still begin most tournaments as the favourites.

Any team in the world who have players of the calibre of Trent Mitton, Jake Whetton, and Blake Govers, in their ranks could well wreak havoc against the best defending units, but the as far as the Aussies are concerned, the quality of talent is bolstered by a never-ending supply of fresh legs.

Dylan Wotherspoon has what it takes to be among the best too, while Timothy Brand displayed in the Champions Trophy that the flow of talent Down Under never seems to ebb.