Men's-FIH-Hockey-World-Cup-india-vs-spain-live-scores-live-updates-live-streaming

INDIA WIN

And that is it. India have started with a win in the 2023 World Cup. Excellent performances by the Indian defence, some work needed in attack.

Okay, one more PC for Spain now. A shove by Jarmanpreet in the D.

A missed trap by the Spanish PC specialist.

The momentum shifting here, and Indians are putting some pressure on the Spanish defence.

Rohidas showing why he is best runner in the world. Covers the line of the ball well, allowing Pathak to move to his left easily.

Pathak has another save for the day. It was a fairly straightforward one for him.

Spain increasing the intensity of the attacks, and they have a PC.

India is down with 10 men now, and this could work in favour of Spain now. But that also allows them to play a bit freely.

Abhishek gets a 10-minute card after a rough tackle. But it was a 50-50 call. Unfortunate for the Indian.

Into the last 15 minutes of the match, Let's see what the Indian team can do here.

Another quarter, which belonged to the Indians, comes to an end. Unfortunately, no more goals came in the last 15 mins for the team.

PC FOR INDIA

Another wide shot for Harmanpreet. He is having an ordinary day for now. But he can turn it around.

India with a beautiful run of play here. Jarman with the ball, he passes the ball to Nilakanta. Nilakanta crosses it towrds Mandeep, and he passes to Shamsher. 

But the latter misses the touch somehow.

Akashdeep lofts the ball towards Manpreet, where the latter is left unmarked. A good opportunity created by the Indians, but the ball goes over Manpreet.

Spain has attacked well in this half, but without any returns. Indians need to be careful though. 

Harmanpreet takes the shot, and the ball goes wide. 

Another missed chance for the Indians.

Lalit gets a PC for India. Hoepfully they convert this one.

India need to regroup now. They need to create a lot more chances.Till now there have been no shots on target.

CAN'T BELIEVE THIS

HARMAN has missed the stroke. 

Akashdeep in with a scoring shot, he misses. But India have a stroke now. 

Third quarter gets underway now. India would be looking to get in some early attacks now.

Spain in with a chance but it was a good save by the Indian defence. First half is over with India in control.

It is the most beautiful sight when the Indian team can create space, get in long passes and get in a goal. We want more of that from the team.

GOALLLLLL!!

Hardik gets the ball long, and scores. That is an excellent goal as India in total control at the moment.

PC FOR SPAIN

MANPREET with the foul in the D.

PATHAK WITH THE BIG SAVE.

There has been little or no effort from the Indian forward line. Someone like Akashdeep needs to keep the attack line together. 

Excellent counter-attack by Spain, and they nearly produce magic. But a wayward shot means the score remains 0 for them.

Excellent counter-attack by Spain, and they nearly produce magic. But a wayward shot means the score remains 0 for them.

A word of appreciation for Nilakanta. He is one of those players, who hardly ever comes in the limelight but steals the ball from the opponents, and creates chances for the forward line.

Start of the second quarter, and India on the attack again. Jarman has a shot on the goal, but it is saved by the Spanish keeper.

End of the first quarter here and India have shown their dominance. 80% possession and a goal to show for their efforts.

India on a roll here. Another PC for India and HArman misses it again.

PCCCC FOR INDIA!!!

Harman with the shot, misses..

Rohidas with the rebound, and he finds the net. First goal for India.

That was a rather tame attempt by the Indians. The first PC should have gone to, only and only, Harman. 

PPPPPPPPPPPCCCCCCCCC!!!

Harman or Rohidas?

India go for a variation, Jarman takes the shot, and miss it.

Akashdeep and Mandeep, both the forwards marked properly by the Spanish defence.

Another circle penetration, and Indians not looking for the foot in the D. They need to get one PC under their belt to start things off.

Both teams more than happy to play from the mid-field. The forwards are not going for the full press as yet.

Another circle penetration now for India, but No penalty corner till now. The defence has been hunting in packs, which is a good sign.

Indian defence needs to show some confidence early on. That would really set the tone for the match.

In the last four matches, India have won only once against Spain. For now possession is with India.

Both teams have a circle penetration in the first minute itself. It's going to be a tight game.

And the national anthems are done. It's time now...

So we are just a few minutes away from the start of the match between India and Spain. 

In the other matches Australia beat France 8-0, Argentina beat South Africa 1-0.

INDIA SQUAD FOR WC

Abhishek, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Lalit Upadhyay, Krishan Pathak, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, PR Sreejesh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Varun Kumar, Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas (vice-captain), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sukhjeet Singh

So, it is day one of the Men's FIH WORLD CUP 2023, in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, and India will take on Spain in Group D match at 7pm IST. Stay tuned for all the minute-by-minute updates on the match.