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Fun With Numbers
Fun With Numbers: India concedes a goal in last quarter again; knocked out of Hockey World Cup
India lost a close encounter against the Netherlands which ended the hope of winning the 2018 Hockey World Cup after 43 years in front of the home crowd. Despite scoring an early goal in the 12th minute, it was the Netherlands who held their nerves and made sure that they are advancing to the semi-finals. 
India had majority of the possession and had better pass accuracy than Dutch army but the Netherlands had their proper strategies upfront against the attacking Indian team. The Dutch were able to get more circle entries than India which was one of the factors in deciding the course of the game. 
The first quarter belonged to India as they were able to get the first goal in 12th-minute courtesy, Akashdeep Singh. India was in attacking mode right from the start of the game and despite lacking the possession they were able to penetrate the opposition. But in the last minute of the quarter, goal by Thierry Brinkman squared up the score line 1-1 Quarter 2 (India 1-Netherlands 1) 
In the second quarter, India was in dominant position with more possession and good passes on the field. But the strong defense by the Netherlands ensured that India could get only 2 shots and maintaining the same score line 1-1. Quarter 3 (India 1-Netherlands 1) 
The Netherlands slowly started to make a comeback from the third quarter. In this quarter, they ensured quality passing more circle entries. With possession level improving from 43% to 48%, it started to threaten the Indian defense line and helped the opposition getting 3 penalty corner opportunities but it did not yield any goal. Quarter 4 (India 1-Netherlands 2) 
The last 10 minutes of the match decided the fate of the game. Unfortunately, this went against the host nation. India right from the start of the tournament were not able to capitalize on last quarter. In the match against Belgium, they conceded a goal in last quarter. This time in the 50th minute Mink van der Weerden scored a penalty corner goal to put his team in the semifinals. This ended the dream of Indian fans of watching their team winning the Hockey World Cup. 
India has been enjoying more of the ball possession in most of the game but the Netherlands capitalized on key moments especially in the last quarter which made them victorious. India really gave a neck to neck competition to the three times champion but ended up on the losing side. The Netherlands will now face Australia in the semifinals.
Overall Match Analysis
The scoreline says 2-1 in favor of the Netherlands but in terms of chances both the teams were neck to neck. India had majority of the possession and had better pass accuracy than Dutch army but the Netherlands had their proper strategies upfront against the attacking Indian team. The Dutch were able to get more circle entries than India which was one of the factors in deciding the course of the game. Quarter-wise Match Analysis
Quarter 1 (India 1-Netherlands 1) The first quarter belonged to India as they were able to get the first goal in 12th-minute courtesy, Akashdeep Singh. India was in attacking mode right from the start of the game and despite lacking the possession they were able to penetrate the opposition. But in the last minute of the quarter, goal by Thierry Brinkman squared up the score line 1-1 Quarter 2 (India 1-Netherlands 1) In the second quarter, India was in dominant position with more possession and good passes on the field. But the strong defense by the Netherlands ensured that India could get only 2 shots and maintaining the same score line 1-1. Quarter 3 (India 1-Netherlands 1) The Netherlands slowly started to make a comeback from the third quarter. In this quarter, they ensured quality passing more circle entries. With possession level improving from 43% to 48%, it started to threaten the Indian defense line and helped the opposition getting 3 penalty corner opportunities but it did not yield any goal. Quarter 4 (India 1-Netherlands 2) The last 10 minutes of the match decided the fate of the game. Unfortunately, this went against the host nation. India right from the start of the tournament were not able to capitalize on last quarter. In the match against Belgium, they conceded a goal in last quarter. This time in the 50th minute Mink van der Weerden scored a penalty corner goal to put his team in the semifinals. This ended the dream of Indian fans of watching their team winning the Hockey World Cup. India has been enjoying more of the ball possession in most of the game but the Netherlands capitalized on key moments especially in the last quarter which made them victorious. India really gave a neck to neck competition to the three times champion but ended up on the losing side. The Netherlands will now face Australia in the semifinals.Next Story
