India take on England as the Hockey World League Final kicks off at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on Friday, with three other enthralling matches also on view.
Where to Watch Live
India vs England is scheduled for an 8 pm IST start, with the first match of the day beginning from 2 pm IST. Live coverage will be on Ten Sports and Ten Action for all the four matches, with free live streaming option for the same provided by FIH HERE.
The home side will be up against some of the best teams in the world, and new coach Terry Walsh and his wards will need to play out of their skins to go the distance in this inaugural yet premier tournament.
"Our goal is improvement as we go through the tournament. We want to see improvement in four areas -- physiological, psychological, tactical and basic skills," Walsh said on Thursday.
India's ace drag-flicker VR Raghunath sees the Hockey World League as the perfect opportunity to iron out the chinks in their armour before the World Cup.
"This tournament is an ideal platform for us to work on our skill sets and loopholes before the World Cup," he said. "Terry Walsh is working very hard on our game and we are feeling the improvement in the manner we are playing in a synchronised manner.
"The team is looking at winning its first match against England and this will help boost our spirit going ahead in the tournament."
While India, grouped with England, Germany and New Zealand in Pool A, are the lowest ranked team in the group, England coach Bobby Crutchley believes the ranking does not truly reflect the side's capabilities.
"India's ranking doesn't reflect its true potential. They have the talent but they cannot dream to become the No.1 team overnight but have to take gradual steps to improve," Crutchley told IANS on Thursday.
"Both India and England struggle to achieve consistency. It will be interesting to see whether we can maintain consistency in the tournament. We would like to keep up our performance at the top level even if we are not getting the results.
"The focus will be on developing performance and then the results will come. The challenge for India is to focus on those little small improvements without thinking of becoming No.1 tomorrow."
India open up their campaign against England in the late game, with three other matches scheduled - Australia vs Belgium, Netherlands vs Argentina and Germany vs New Zealand -- earlier.
Pool A: India, Germany, New Zealand, England.
Pool B: Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, Argentina.
Friday schedule: Australia vs Belgium (2 pm IST), Netherlands vs Argentina (4 pm IST), Germany vs New Zealand (6 pm IST), India vs England (8 pm IST).
