Hockey World Cup: Error-prone India beaten 4-2 by England

Mumbai: Hardik Singh dribbled swiftly on the left flank. He passed the ball into the circle where Abhishek collected it close to the backline. A quick and smart dribble later, he played a low cross across England’s goal.

Dilpreet Singh, known for scoring great, if not always spectacular, goals for India was well positioned at the back post. Unmarked, he tapped the ball in to score the easiest goal he could have ever imagined. It was a strike that put India 2-1 up against England in their second Pool D match of the FIH World Cup at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands on Monday.

This was India’s fifth goal in the tournament, but the first field goal. It suggested the team could score from open play rather than always rely on the drag-flicking prowess of captain Harmanpreet Singh from penalty corners to bail them out of trouble.

However, against the world No.3 side dressed in light blue on Monday, Dilpreet’s goal was one of the few positives for India, as a relentless England team went on to win 4-2.

This was the first time since 2014 that the two teams played a match decided by a difference of more than one goal. And it came on the back of a disappointing defensive performance from the Indians.

England’s first goal itself gave a glimpse of the frailties in the Indian backline. A long lob forward was smartly controlled near the 23-yard line by Stuart Rushmere, who was given time for two more touches before passing it forward to Nicholas Bandurak.

Unmarked and with plenty of space inside the Indian circle, he cleverly chipped the ball over the rushing goalkeeper HS Mohith to give England the lead in the 14th minute.

Harmanpreet then scored his third goal of the tournament, a sizzling effort from a penalty corner to bring India level at the start of the second quarter (17th min), with Dilpreet putting India in the lead (25th) which they held on to going into halftime.

“We need to press harder, be more relentless.” England coach Zak Jones said that was his message to his players during the break. And England responded by doing just that.

Holding the ball more while India tried to hold on to some shape, England kept the ball moving while their forwards ran into the gaps left open – and there were plenty of them – by the Indian defenders.

Stuart Rushmere found one such gap in the 39th minute after getting to the end of a pass from Liam Sanford, putting his shot past Mohith.

Just four minutes later, with his back to the goal, Henry Croft received the ball from the right flank. He took a touch to bring the ball under control, and then, on the swivel and with a big back-lift – it should have given Jugraj Singh enough time to clear the danger – Croft hammered the ball into the net to put England ahead.

From leading 2-1 to now trailing 3-2, there was an expectation that India would start to keep possession more and create more chances in attack. Instead, it was England who continued to drive on, with India hanging on with some unconvincing defensive organisation.

That will perhaps be one of the main things coach Craig Fulton will look to address before India’s final Pool D match on Wednesday against Pakistan.

“Without the ball, we made too many silly mistakes,” said skipper Harmanpreet after the match to the FIH. “That’s a big learning for us going into the next match.”

Since winning their second consecutive Olympic bronze medal at the Paris Games in 2024, India has had to transition in a few key areas, especially in the goalkeeper’s position. Since the great PR Sreejesh retired after Paris, the role has now been taken up by 24-year-old Mohith and 30-year-old Suraj Karkera, who was recalled to the Indian camp after Sreejesh’s exit.

This is the first major tournament for India since the Olympics, and there’s some way to go for Mohith and Karkera to form that defensive cohesion Sreejesh had forged with the backline. That could be seen as Bandurak’s second goal of the match, and England’s fourth, came from a drag-flick that evaded the first rusher and seemed to fly close to Karkera’s leg and into the goal.

That field goal by Dilpreet does remain a major positive for India going forward. But after this defeat to England, the next game against Pakistan, a team they have not lost to in the last 19 meetings, becomes a must-win match.