Looking forward to play aggressive hockey: Victor Charlet

BHUBANESWAR: The France Men's Hockey Team were a surprise package in the last edition of the Men's Hockey World Cup in 2018 and will look to do better in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela as they reach Bhubaneswar to take part in the tournament.

France are placed in Pool A alongside Australia, Argentina, and South Africa and will play the Aussies in their first match of the tournament on January 13 in Bhubaneswar.

France's captain Victor Charlet spoke about his team's strengths against some top sides in the tournament and also cleared his intentions of going for the trophy.

"Definitely our target is to win the Men's Hockey World Cup and we are looking forward to play aggressive hockey. We have a lot of quality in our side and are capable of defeating any big team in the tournament with fast and aggressive hockey. As a team, we want to win the trophy and create history," Hockey India quoted Charlet as saying.

Meanwhile, head coach Frederic Soyez said he was optimistic about their chances in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela.

"We are not looking for the title at the moment. Our team is focused on the first match of the tournament right now and then we will see where we end up. We prepared for this tournament with an aim to do better than the last year and I think we have the quality to perform well against the top teams," Soyez said.

France have several stars in their team and one of the players is Timothee Clement, who also won the Player of the Tournament award at the 2021 Men's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup.

However, the Head Coach stated that they intend to play as a team rather than focusing on a few players.

"Clement is one of the players in our team and has some really good qualities but at the same time, we want to do well as a team. Our team have a lot of good players and they are looking forward to prove their worth in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela," said Soyez.