Bhubaneswar, Dec 8: An impressive India thrashed Canada 5-1 to top Pool C and seal a direct berth in the quarterfinals of the men's hockey World Cup in front of a capacity crowd at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday (December 8).
India scored four goals in the fourth quarter through Chinglensana Singh (46th minute), Lalit Upadhyay (47th, 57th) and Amit Rohidas (51st) after Harmanpreet Singh gave the home team the lead in the 12th minute.
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Canada's lone goal came from the sticks of Floris van Son in the 39th minute. By virtue of this win, India finished on top of Pool C with seven points ahead of world no.3 Belgium on account of better goal difference.
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Belgium, too on seven points, finished second ahead of third-placed Canada after thrashing South Africa 5-1 in the other Pool C game earlier in the day.
South Africa crashed out of the tournament. While India qualified directly for the quarterfinals by being the toppers, Belgium and Canada will play in the cross-overs for a place in the last-eight round.
Canada too overcame South Africa by virtue of a better goal difference. Both the teams finished their pool engagements with one point apiece. India will play their quarterfinal match on December 13.
As it happened:
Full Time! India beat Canada 5-1 and advance to the quarter-finals in style.
57' GOAL!!!! Superb co-ordination between Sumit and Lalit and the latter hits his second goal of the night. IND 5-1 CAN
50' Goal! Rohidas converts another penalty corner for India. India 4-1 Canada.
47' Goal! India get a goal in a couple of minutes and the hosts extend lead. It was a thunderstrike from Lalit and the goalkeeper had no answer to it. India 3-1 Canada.
45' Goal! Chinglensana gives India the lead in the 4th quarter. India 2-1 Canada
Q4 Begins!
End of 3rd Quarter and Canada must be pretty pleased with their effort in this quarter. They've not only equalised but also defended well. Pressure on India now to take the lead in the final quarter.
42' The Canadians have increased the circle penetrations but India have raised the tempo of their attacking play on the turf as they look for a way to deal damage.
39' GOAL! Canada force a turnover and execute a fine counter-attack to draw up on level terms with India.
37' Indians are penetrating in the opposition's circle but they haven't yet managed to convert it.
3rd Quarter Begins!
Half Time! India go for the break with a slender 1 goal lead against Canada. They played some attacking game in the second quarter but the Canadian defence was pretty alert to deny the hosts any more success. IND 1-0 CAN
28' With only minutes to go till HT. India has done well to close out threats from the barreling @FieldHockeyCan offense.
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) December 8, 2018
IND 1-0 CAN#INDvCAN #IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey
24' Surender is in the right place at the right time to block out a shot from Scholfield.
23' Harmanpreet and Mandeep Singh took the aerial route to enter Canada's D but the opposition's defence was alert.
21' Green card for Canada's player. Canada are down to 10 at the moment.
End of 1st quarter! India failed to convert a couple of penalty corners but they have taken the lead. Their possession was 57% as compared to Canada's 43.
12' Goal!! Harmanpreet executes a stunning low shot to score India's first goal! The hosts take 1-0 lead in the 1st Quarter.
10' Penalty Corner for India! India got their first penalty corner in the 10th minute but they Men In Blue failed to convert it. Harmanpreet's attempt got blocked by the first runner and Canada took the opportunity to counter-attack from the left corner.
5' The match has gotten off to a high-tempo start as both teams are forcing several turnovers and taking their opportunity to attack.
National anthems are finished and the countdown has begun. Match starts!
India's starting XI against Canada!
Here’s the Starting Lineup for India as they are all set to face @FieldHockeyCan in their final game of Pool C of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. #INDvCAN #IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey pic.twitter.com/5iTwdJfKw9
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) December 8, 2018
Player to watch out for!
With 3 goals under his belt, all eyes will be on Simranjeet Singh when Indian Men's Team takes on Canada at the last pool-stage encounter of the OHMWC Bhubaneswar 2018 on 8th December. #IndiaKaGame #DilHockey #HWC2018 #INDvCAN pic.twitter.com/n4xzvGMyUe
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) December 8, 2018
Full Time! Belgium have defeated South Africa 5-1. India will have to win the game against Canada to finish at the top of the table in Pool C.
At Half-Time! Belgium are leading South Africa 4-1.
HT. Luypaert strikes for @BELRedLions right before half-time to give their team more cushion in this last round of Pool C match.
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) December 8, 2018
BEL 4-1 RSA#BELvRSA #IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey
Fans have gathered at the Kalinga International Stadium.
Matchday 1️⃣1️⃣ Mood! 💯
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) December 8, 2018
🇧🇪 #BELvRSA 🇿🇦 and 🇮🇳 #INDvCAN 🇨🇦 are the offerings from the Kalinga Stadium today, which clash has your attention from the OHMWC Bhubaneswar 2018?#IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey pic.twitter.com/7ZdjUIwM83