Amstelveen. The Indian team, which started its campaign with a win against Wales in the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, now faces the biggest challenge in the pool stage. India will face third-ranked England in the world rankings on Monday. In the history of the World Cup, India's last win against England was in 1994. That means the Indian team has been waiting for 32 years to win against England in this prestigious tournament.
India defeated Wales, ranked 15th in the world, 3-1 in their first pool match on Saturday. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored two goals from the penalty corner, while Sanjay also scored from the penalty corner.
On the other hand, England have made a strong start by defeating Pakistan 4-1 in their first match.
This time the format of the World Cup has changed. Earlier the top two teams of the pool would directly advance to the quarter-finals, but now the top two teams after the pool stage will go to the second stage. In this stage, eight teams will be divided into two pools and the top two teams of both the pools will make it to the semi-finals.
In such a situation, the marks of the first phase will be very important. If both India and England reach the next round, they will not face each other again in the second leg and the points scored in the first leg will influence the standings. Therefore, the match against England is considered very important for India's semi-final hopes.
Against Wales, India's forward line created many good chances and also won penalty corners, but the team was not successful in scoring a field goal. Against a strong team like England, India will have to reduce its dependence on penalty corners and also capitalize on field goal opportunities.
Jarmanpreet Singh especially performed well in defence, but the Indian forward players will have to focus on creating chances with better coordination and converting them into goals.
Before the World Cup, India and England faced each other in the London leg of the Pro League. Both the teams registered one win each in the penalty shootout and got bonus points.
In the Pro League 2025-26, England lost only two matches in 16 matches and finished second after Belgium. Whereas the Indian team remained at eighth position above Pakistan in the table of nine teams.
Regarding the performance of the Pro League, captain Harmanpreet Singh said that there are ups and downs in the game, but the team's entire focus is now on the World Cup. Expressing confidence in better preparation and current form, he stressed on moving forward match-by-match and creating maximum goal opportunities.
The experience of the three-day boot camp organized in Switzerland for mental strength before the tournament can also be useful for the Indian team. It will be important for India to maintain composure under pressure against a strong opponent like England and take advantage of the opportunities given.
The England team has finished in the top five in the last five World Cups since 2006. In the World Cup qualifiers, it defeated Japan 5-0, host Egypt 3-0 and America 5-0. After this, Malaysia was defeated 7-1 and Pakistan 4-1.
At the same time, India's record against England in the World Cup has not been good. India last defeated England by one goal in the fifth-sixth place match in the 1994 Sydney World Cup. After this, in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, England defeated India by the same margin of 3-2. In the last World Cup of 2023, the match between the two teams was a goalless draw.
The India-England match in Pool D can play an important role in deciding the position of the top two teams of this group. After England, India has to play a match against Pakistan on 19th August.
The 2026 Men's Hockey World Cup is being held in Belgium and the Netherlands from August 14 to 30.
