India took on Belgium in the second group stage match of 2018 FIH Hockey World Cup at Bhubaneshwar which ended in a 2-2 scoreline. This draw meant that India still is on top of Pool C because of the goal difference. India had a great chance to upset the Olympic silver medalists but missed by a whisker. These are the positive areas from the match which can help India in the match against Canada.
With the help of this detailed statistics, we can say that the pass accuracy was approximately 9% to 11% more for Belgium compared to India in Quarter 1 and 2 whereas the accuracy level was approximately 4% to 9% more for India in Quarter 3 and Quarter 4. This means despite the strong strategy of Belgian team attack and passing accuracy, team India bounced back strongly to give a tough fight in the game.
This helped Belgium to score a quick early goal but despite that Indian team capitalized very well in the last two quarters of the game. This helped the hosts to score two crucial goals at 39’ and 47’ minutes by Harmanpreet Singh and Simranjeet Singh respectively.
In the third quarter, the dynamics of the game completely turned in favor of the hosts. Indian attackers were able to enter the circle entry area 10 times compared to Belgium 4 times. This helped India attackers pressure helped them to score goals in penalty and one on field goal.