Hockey World Cup 2018 India vs Canada highlights: India win 5-1 to storm into quarter-finals

Men's Hockey World Cup 2018 Live, India vs Canada: India have thrashed Canada by 5-1 in a must-win match to secure direct qualification for quarterfinals in the Hockey World Cup 2018 in the Kalinga Stadium Bhubaneswar. Belgium's victory in the match earlier meant India had to secure full points against Canada to finish on top of Pool C. And India did exactly that, scoring four goals in the fourth quarter of the match.

08/12/2018 20:26:14

That’s the final hooter. FULL TIME score: India 5-1 Canada, which means India finish on top of Pool C with 7 points but with a clear advantage of four goals from Belgium to directly qualify for the quarterfinals. Belgium and Canada go to the cross-over round while the other team of the group South Africa are out of the tournament.

08/12/2018 20:21:22

GOAL! Lalit Upadhyay once again! His second of the night. India have taken a 5-1 lead now. The Canadians have no idea what has stung them. It’s raining goals, this the fourth goal of the final quarter and there are still 3 minutes to for the final hooter.

08/12/2018 20:18:41

A yellow card for Canada at the wrong time. James Patrick will now play no part in the match as only four minutes remain (a yellow card means suspension for 10 minutes).

08/12/2018 20:14:14

GOAL! Number four for India, first of the night from Amit Rohidas. The local boy makes full use of his first penalty corner of the match. Now surely India are favourites to finish on top of Pool C. It's India 4-1 Canada

08/12/2018 20:10:19

GOAL! Number four for India, first of the night from Amit Rohidas. The local boy makes full use of his first penalty corner of the match. Now surely India are favourites to finish on top of Pool C. It's India 4-1 Canada

08/12/2018 20:08:34

GOAL! Lalit Upadhyay this time with a thunderous shot, India score two goals inside two minutes and the Kalinga Stadium erupts. What a start to the third quarter by the hosts. It’s India 3-1 Canada.

08/12/2018 20:06:44

GOAL! Chinglensana you beauty! What a bullet-like shot from him, no chance for the Canadian keeper. India are once again back in the lead

08/12/2018 20:04:52

GOAL! Chinglensana you beauty! What a bullet-like shot from him, no chance for the Canadian keeper. India are once again back in the lead

08/12/2018 20:03:06

A golden opportunity missed by Lalit. India made two desperate attempts to get the second goal but nothing substantial. It’s India 1-1 Canada at the end of the third quarter.

08/12/2018 19:59:40

Great stickwork from Smythe. Gets the ball in but Sreejesh bums it out of the danger area. India breathe a sigh of relief. But Canada are all over the hosts at the moment.

08/12/2018 19:56:06

GOAL! The Kalinga stadium has been stunned to silence. A miss pass from Simranjeet gave Floris van Son the opportunity to have a free shot to the Indian goal. It’s India 1-1 Canada. If this is the final scoreline then India will not qualify directly for the quarter-finals.

08/12/2018 19:53:23

Great ball in by Surender, Simranjeet traps it but his second touch is too hard and the ball trickles away from the D. He makes a desperate attempt to bring it inside the D but to no avail. Simranjeet is not having the best of games so far.

08/12/2018 19:51:00

Great ball in by Surender, Simranjeet traps it but his second touch is too hard and the ball trickles away from the D. He makes a desperate attempt to bring it inside the D but to no avail. Simranjeet is not having the best of games so far.

08/12/2018 19:47:06

Mandeep gets things underway for India in the second half. Mind you, Canada are still down to 10 men because of that yellow card to Wallace in the dying stages of the second quarter.

08/12/2018 19:44:59

Mandeep gets things underway for India in the second half. Mind you, Canada are still down to 10 men because of that yellow card to Wallace in the dying stages of the second quarter.

08/12/2018 19:37:36

The half-time hooter goes off and India still hanging on to their 1-0 lead provided by Harmanpreet.

08/12/2018 19:36:46

The half-time hooter goes off and India still hanging on to their 1-0 lead provided by Harmanpreet.

08/12/2018 19:36:10

A yellow card is shown to Jammie Wallace. That was a terrible tackle, some inexperience there from the 19-year-old. .Canada down to 10 players at the stroke of half-time.

08/12/2018 19:33:27

Good passage of play from Canada. They have put India severe pressure in the last two-three minutes. Two minutes for the half-time hooter. India need to hold on.

08/12/2018 19:31:34

Good tackle by Surender, blocking the shot and helping Sreejesh out in defence. That could have been curtains for India had Surender failed to get his stick down on time.

08/12/2018 19:30:03

Great aerial pass by Harmanpreet, Mandeep has wide open spaces down the right flank, gets in the through pass towards the captain but the first touch of Manpreet lets him down, the balls rolls over the line and results in a long corner for Canada. It's India 1-0 Canada.

08/12/2018 19:28:21

Ian Smythe receives a green card. Canada are down to 10 men, can India take the advantage and get a second one in?

08/12/2018 19:21:39

That’s the end of the first quarter and India have taken a 1-0 lead by virtue of a superb penalty corner from Harmanpreet. If score line remains the same then India will finish on top and secure direct qualification for quarterfinals.

08/12/2018 19:18:00

The variation doesn’t work for India. They waste the third penalty corner, some desperate defending by the Canadians. But India have got Canada on the run, that was the third penalty corner in a space of five minutes. It’s India 1-0 Canada.

08/12/2018 19:15:15

GOAL! Harmanpreet doesn’t miss the second time. It all started with the successful referral by India which gave India the second penalty corner of the match and Harmanpreet did not a second invitation. India have taken a 1-0 lead against Canada after 12 minutes.

08/12/2018 19:13:02

Manpreet with the delivery and Harmanpreet’s first penalty corner of the match rebounds straight off the Canadian defence.

08/12/2018 19:08:35

Akashdeep Singh with a delightful overhead pass but does not find Mandeep Singh, who had made a haring run towards the Canadian goal. The towering figure of Scott Tupper comes to the rescue for Canada. It’s still India 0-0 Canada.

08/12/2018 19:06:19

5 minutes into the first quarter and the match has gotten off to a high-tempo star as both teams force several turnovers and take their opportunity to attack.

08/12/2018 19:04:21

India playing long balls to spread the field. A good strategy to confuse a tricky opposition like Canada who like to play by keeping close marking on their opponents.

08/12/2018 19:01:15

There goes the hooter and off goes India’s Lalit Upadhyay haring down the left side. India straight away in the attack and the crowd the love it.

08/12/2018 18:57:45

The players of both India and Belgium line up for the customary handshakes and the national anthem before the start of the match. You can sense the sense the tension in the eyes of all the players, more so for India as they have to win this match. Canada will only be knocked out of the tournament if they lose this match by 7-0.

08/12/2018 18:48:23

With 3 goals under his belt – the highest for India in the World Cup so far - all eyes will be on Simranjeet Singh to lead India to victory against Canada. We are exactly 12 minutes away from the start of what promises to be an exciting encounter.

08/12/2018 18:45:27

With 3 goals under his belt – the highest for India in the World Cup so far - all eyes will be on Simranjeet Singh to lead India to victory against Canada. We are exactly 12 minutes away from the start of what promises to be an exciting encounter.

08/12/2018 18:44:37

Some news for Indian fans, the result (Belgium 5-1 South Africa) in the recently concluded other Pool C match, means India will have to win against Canada to maintain their top position in the pool and more importantly, secure a direct spot in the quarterfinals, avoiding the cross-over.

08/12/2018 18:37:43

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the all-important final Pool C match of the Hockey World Cup 2018 between India and Canada at the Kalinga Stadium. World No. 5 India have not been highly impressive against World No. 11 Canada in recent encounters but with a spot in the quarterfinal at stake, one expects the hosts to rise to the occasion.

Background

Their campaign off to a smooth start hosts India would look to seal a direct quarterfinal berth with a win against Canada in their final Pool C match of the men's hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. World number 5 India are currently leading Pool C with four points from two games ahead of Olympic silver medallist Belgium (4 points) on account of a better goal difference. The Indians have a goal difference of + 5 as against Belgium's +1. Both Canada and South Africa have one point each from two matches but the North Americans are placed third with a goal difference of -1 as against South Africa's -5. India thrashed South Africa 5-0 and drew 2-2 against Belgium in their earlier matches, while Canada lost 1-2 against the Red Lions before eking out a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Africans. While India are placed at an advantageous position at present, the pool is still wide open. The hosts would not want to leave anything on chance and they would seek a comprehensive win on Saturday to cement their place atop the pool and directly qualify for the last eight round. The second and third-placed teams from the pool will play cross-over matches against number 2 and 3 teams of other pools to decide the remaining last four quarterfinal places. Going by records and form, India are hands down favourites to come out victorious against Canada. But as we have witnessed on Thursday with world number 20 France upsetting Olympic champions Argentina in a Pool A encounter, anything can happen in modern world hockey. Besides the better rankings, India enjoy a superior head-to-head record against Canada. Since 2013, India and Canada have played five matches against India with the hosts having won three, lost one and drawn one. So come tomorrow, the Indians will have to come out with a clear frame of mind and with just one goal -- a comprehensive win against Canada and top the pool. But it would be easier said than done as the Canadians have improved tremendously over the years, especially their defence, which was visible in their first game against Belgium who found it difficult to break their backline and just managed to eke out a narrow 2-1 win. The onus would be on India's lethal forward line comprising Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay to take responsibility on their shoulders. The Indian midfield, led by skipper Manpreet Singh, has so far produced a decent show, while the defence need to be more agile and cautious, especially considering the fact that the backline is infamous for crumbling under pressure towards the end. Conceding late goals has been India's perennial problem and it once again came to hurt the hosts when their defence, consisting of Birendra Lakra, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, broke down under pressure to concede a goal four minutes from the final hooter and gift Belgium a draw in their last match. Indian goalkeeper P R Sreejesh too does not look the same under the bar after returning to the side following an injury lay-off. Canada have given India problems in the past, the most recent being in last year's Hockey World League Semi-Finals in London where they defeated India 3-2 to finish fifth. If that was not enough, in the 2016 Rio Olympics too, India were held to a 2-2 draw by the Canadians. But India's chief coach Harendra Singh was not in a mood to dwell in the past and said those experiences will only act as a catalyst to do better on Saturday. "Past failures are experiences. These experiences we will try to make use the present. The present is the match against Canada. The match will decide the fate of our pool. I am not thinking about what happened in Hockey World League Semi-Final or Rio Olympics," Harendra said. While insisting that Canada will rely on counter-attacks, the coach said India can't divert from its strength -- that is attacking hockey. "They will not give space. They wait, wait and wait to get opportunities and that will be their plan. But we have to play to our strength," Harendra said. "You can't go and defend. You can't be on the backfoot. We have to play attacking hockey. The players have adopted attacking hockey when they were teenagers. It's in our culture. You can make minor adjustments, but not change the mindset," he added. In the first match of Pool C on Saturday, Belgium will take on South Africa.