FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 Live Score : Hosts India win their opening game against Spain

India took on Spain for their first group stage fixture at Rourkela’s newly-built Birsa Munda Stadium. Both the teams are young and are looking forward to begin their campaign on a high-note. Below is the starting 11 for both the teams.

🇮🇳 IND vs ESP 🇪🇸

The #MenInBlue 💙 will face the #RedSticks ❤️ in their first pool D match. Here's a look at the lineup!#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @rfe_hockey pic.twitter.com/UUMrIDoZQf

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 13, 2023

Quarter 1 :

India begin their World cup campaign with Spain going for the first attack. Both the teams looked energetic early on and India were trying to exploit Spain’s left flank for circle penetrations.

India won a penalty corner with Abhishek taking the drag. He found defender Jarmanpreet Singh for the shot but the 26-year-old failed to put the ball in the back of the net. However, it were the hosts who opened the scoring through another Penalty corner.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh took the PC this time around and he found Amit Rohidas who struck the ball hard and place it perfectly to make it 1-0 in the first-quarter.

Quarter 2 :

India are playing a very style and going all in while attacking. In terms of defending too the hosts are throwing their body and making crucial saves. Their all out attacking and trasnitional game play saw them double their lead through Hardik Singh.

It was a fantastic move made by the team and their decisiveness in the final third was absolutely spot on. Great start for India.

Quarter 3 and 4 saw no goals coming in for any side. India held on to their resilience in the defense and saw off Spain by 2-0. It was a good game for India as they proceeded with their usual style of play which they adopted under Graham Reid’s tenure.

Winning the first group fixture will provide immense relief and boost their confidence for the next matches. The Blues will now face England in 2 days at time at Rourkela.