Hockey World Cup: India beat Wales 4-2 to finish second in group D

BHUBANESWAR: The Indian hockey team finished second in Pool D of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 after beating Wales 4-2 in their final group match at the Kalinga Stadium, here on Thursday.

Midfielder Shamsher Singh (22'), Akashdeep Singh (33', 46') and Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh (60') scored the goals for India while Gareth Furlong (43') and Jacob Draper (45') netted for World Cup debutants Wales.

India will now play New Zealand, who came third in Pool C, for a place in the quarter-finals in the crossovers.

Earlier in the day, England beat Spain 4-0 and pipped India for the top spot in Pool D and qualified directly for the quarter-finals.

As per the format at FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023, four pool winners (A-D) advance to the quarter-finals while the teams finishing second and third in their pools will play crossover matches to claim the remaining four quarter-final spots.

Notably, England and India played out a goalless draw on Sunday but won their other two matches to finish equal on seven points. However, England finished with a better goal difference of +9 compared to India's +4. Spain finished third in Pool D and will play Pool C runners-up Malaysia for a spot in the last eight.