Ahead of the do-or-die clash against Spain, the mood in the India camp is upbeat. Despite the thrashing by Australia in
India vs
Spain
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India |
Spain |
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Strengths: The newfound never-say-die attitude. The team fought till the very end against Australia.
Weakness: They failed to match the speed of the Australians. Spain may try the same tactics.
Player to watch out for:
Vikram Pillay (IND): The link between the midfield and forward-line, he has to contribute in defence too. |
Strengths: The defence looks quite compact. India forwards will need to work to get past it.
Weakness: The forward line has failed to get it’s act together in the absence of Santi Frexia.
Player to watch out for:
Pau Quemada (ESP): The penalty corner expert needs to fire if Spain are to outwit the India defence. |
the Hero Honda FIH Hockey World Cup on Tuesday, players are confident of making to the semifinals.
The team did not have a practice session on Wednesday. Instead, the players met informally in the afternoon for a post-mortem of the 2-5 defeat. After viewing the video and analysing the performance Rajpal Singh felt there was no need to worry. “All we’ve lost is one match to a team that is ranked second in the world. We still have a chance to qualify for semifinals and we are confident of beating Spain and England,” the skipper said.
“We are still in the tournament as three league games are left. The team will surely bounce back,” he added.
Coach Jose Brasa too was confident of the team making it to the last four stage. He took heart from the way his boys fought. “This is a good sign and will help us in next games,” he said. Brasa perhaps faces the biggest test of his career against Spain, his home country, and as one who knows Spanish hockey inside out, his tactics are expected to be right.
The World Cup thus far has produced mixed results for the Spaniard. If his methods were spot-on against Pakistan, he floundered against Australia. India will have to set the pace against Spain but guard against counterattacks. Spain play a solid defensive game but look vulnerable.