After losing their all-important last-four encounter against Belgium in the Hockey World League semi-final, India will be eager to finish the tournament on a high as they are set to face Great Britain for a third place play off.
India were disappointing in the semi-final against Belgium, as they were defeated 4-0 by the hosts. Though India might have had good possession during the game, but the Indian defence showed their vulnerability when Belgium attacked from all sides.
India's offence too looked below par on Friday. They were not able to split up on the Belgium defence, which India's coach Paul van Ass needs to address as it is going to be a huge concern for India when they face Great Britain on Sunday in Antwerp, Belgium.
Even when India got their chances via penalty corners, India's best drag flicker, Rupinder Singh, could not convert their chances as he struck the ball wide. India have already qualified for the Rio Olympics, but they will need to improve upon their game further if they are to have any chances of fighting for a medal in 2016 Olympics.
Sardar Singh, India's skipper, is aware of the mistakes the Indian team made against Belgium. And the men in blue does not want to commit the same errors against Great Britain.
"We committed mistakes yesterday and which cost us the match. For tomorrow (Sunday) we will aim not to repeat them against Great Britain. Our penalty corner conversions have to come right and we have to ensure that we capitalise on them. Also while we are confident of breaking their defence, we also need to cash in on the opportunities that get created once we enter the opponent's semi circle," Hockey India official website quoted Sardar Singh as saying.
Though, India may up their game against Great Britain after their humiliating loss, but the latter will also be thinking of the same as they lost to Australia 3-1. This was their only loss in the competition, but they lost against the best team in the competition. Great Britain have scored 18 goals in the competition so far.
Great Britain is going to prove to be a huge threat and especially with the Indian defence looking shaky, they have it in them to drill many goals past India, who will once again be looking forward to PR Sreejesh, India's goalie, who has been in good form and made some brilliant saves in the tournament.
Where to Watch Live
The third place playoff match between India and Great Britain in the ongoing 2015 Hockey World League is scheduled to begin at 3:30pm local time (7pm IST, 2:30pm BST) start with live TV coverage in India on Star Sports 1/HD with live streaming option on starsports.com.
Viewers in the UK and Ireland can watch it live on Sky Sports with the live streaming option on Sky Sports.
PTV will air the game live in Pakistan.
