Men's and Women's Hockey World Cups

[PKBasu]

Holland beat Canada to set up a tough quarterfinal clash for India on Thursday.
And Belgium also thrashed Pakistan 5-0 to set up a QF against Germany. Ironically, #3 Belgium play #6 Germany, while #4 Holland play #5 India, so the “right” matchups have emerged despite the “wrong” (ie lower ranked) teams winning the two pools.

[rajitghosh]

I am starting to like this format. At least 3 out of the 4 quarterfinals have great matchups. Only Australia vs France should be 1-sided.

[sameerph]

Ironically, #3 Belgium play #6 Germany, while #4 Holland play #5 India, so the “right” matchups have emerged despite the “wrong” (ie lower ranked) teams winning the two pools.

Also #2 Argentina play #7 Englands in third QF. So, almost everyone has played to their ranking so far in this world cup except # 8 Spain instead of whom #20 France have been surprise quarter finalists.

Of course, we would not want the rankings to good hold now in the QF's.

[srini]

Argentina are out , losing 2-3 to England. So rankings do not hold good here also

[sameerph]

And Australia beats France 3-0 in the second quarter final. So, rankings hold there.

[Sin Hombre]

I generally look at hockey as Aus clear #1, and very little to choose between #2 to #7. Argentina's surprise gold at the Olympics puts them at #2 but they are inconsistent.

Spain and NZ are a mini category of themselves and then there are half a dozen teams including Pakistan in the 10-16 group.

[PKBasu]

India vs Holland about to begin, and sadly I'm going to be boarding a flight shortly. Let us pray for the miracle that hasn't happened for 43 years - India in a World Cup semifinal!

[ankit1407]

1-1 at half time .. should not have conceded that goal in the last minute of quarter specially after getting possession with 60 seconds to go..

Cmon boys do it

[ankit1407]

Down 1-2 .. afraid not looking good..

[ankit1407]

All over , our forward line is just a joke ..

[ssp]

Forward line has been ajoke for ages. What can we expect when we select sh*t like Mandeep, Akashdeep etc. We deserve to lose matches like this just based on the lunacy of the selections. I bet there will be wholesale changes of coaches and players, but the real rubbish players holding the team back will remain for another 4 years at least.

[sameerph]

So, our wait for SF berth at world cup continues. Except for England upsetting #2 Argentina, the rankings have held good for semi finals. Australia, Belgium and Netherlands all perform as per their rankings.

[jayakris]

So I was right about not getting excited for this match. Just kinda felt that way for the last few days. 43 years since the last world cup on grass, which we won, and we are still waiting to even make a semi at a world cup. But then again, this is probably the best quality that we have shown since 1975. I guess we will do it some day, and make a semi at a WC. Hopefully before I am too old to sit in front of a TV or a laptop (or wear a virtual reality goggles or something of the future) and watch it.

[ssp]

Based on our play throughout 2018, we are still a fair bit off beating top teams like Holland. There are too many errors from too many players to survive against the best opposition. Silly play in both circles is really frustrating too. In tight matches, we have to make the best of any circle entries and most of the time, we get absolutely nothing from our forwards. Compare this to the brilliance of Ruhr, Fuchs, Mitton, Mazzilli or any of the Dutch midfielders.

I hope there is no panic decision from HI. We have to keep Harendra on for a full 4 year cycle. But simply have a ruthless approach to selections. I had reservations about Amit Rohidas, Chinglensana, Akashdeep, Mandeep and Kothajit. These guys have been playing for 4-5 years and if they haven't reached the standard required by now, they never will. Accept this and move on.

It's heartbreaking to lose a key match like this...again and again, but I have to say we are much more competitive than the last world cup and miles better than previous 4 decades. We are capable of going backwards from this level

[SaniaFan]

What an idiot Amit Rohidas is? Hitting the opponent with stick. I mean the players who cannot keep their emotion in check or channelize them better should never be picked. And he is doing at a time when were are looking for the equalizer. It is difficult to win with 11 against strong teams, what chance do we have with 10.