Bhubaneswar: India will go head-to-head against France once again at the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup 2021 on Sunday as both teams battle it out for a third-place finish. The two teams had opened their campaign against each other in the tournament on November 24 in a hard-fought match that France won 5-4.
India chief coach Graham Reid expressed confidence on Saturday that the team will overturn the result and clinch bronze.
“We will be taking as many positives as we can from our performances in the tournament so far, and we will be ready for Sunday. I am very confident the team will be back to the level we need to be up against France,” said Reid.
After the loss against France, India went on to pick up three straight wins, defeating Canada 13-1, Poland 8-2, and Belgium 1-0, but lost in the semifinal to Germany 2-4, missing out on the chance to play Argentina in the final.
Speaking on the defeat, Reid said, “I am disappointed that we did not put our best foot forward in the first and second quarter. The basics let us down a bit. Germany attacked well, defended well, and had intensity about them. They did what we were trying to do.”
Reid elaborated, “But we hope to learn from this experience about what we should be doing at this level if we want to win. One of the great things to come out of the game was that none of the players gave up the fight, and we played better in the second half. As a coach, you have to admire that.”
France also had a tremendous tournament, as they won all their Group B games, defeating India 5-4, Poland 7-1 and Canada 11-1. In the quarterfinal, the Frenchmen beat a defensively strong Malaysia 4-0. But their hopes to win the trophy ended after they lost in the semifinal to Argentina 1-3 (0-0) via shoot-outs.
(IANS)