Five-Nations Hockey 2023 Men's Tournament: India vs France preview and prediction
The Five-Nations Hockey tournament is yet to witness an Indian win even as the men's team takes on France in their last match of the competition on December 20.
The Harmanpreet Singh-led side were defeated by hosts Spain 0-1 in their opener before going down to Olympic champions Belgium 2-7 in Valencia.
Despite leading Germany 2-0, the Indians ended up losing 2-3 in their third match and will now hope to register a win against the French at the Five-Nations Hockey tournament on Wednesday.
Abhishek opened the scoring for India as early as the ninth minute with Shamsher Singh doubling the lead a minute before the end of the first quarter. Malte Hellwig reduced the deficit for Germany two minutes before half-time which was followed by a barren third quarter.
With 15 minutes left on the clock, the Indians, who led 2-1, may well have hoped to seal a win at the Five-Nations Hockey Tournament but two German stalwarts had other ideas.
Christopher Ruhr scored off a penalty stroke in the 50th minute while former Argentinian drag-flick ace Gonzalo Peillat added to the tally off a penalty corner a minute later.
The Indians will now square off against a French team who have risen through the rungs and currently occupy the ninth slot, as per the FIH rankings, after going into the 2018 Hockey World Cup ranked 20th.
Mapping the phenomenal rise of the French Men's Hockey team
Back in the 2018 Hockey World Cup, France, who were the lowest-ranked side in the tournament, caused a stir by holding Spain to a 1-1 draw in their second match.
Ranked 20th in the world at Odisha 2018, France then stunned 2016 Olympic champions Argentina 5-3 in the group stage before beating China 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the competition.
The European side continued to impress on the world stage as they made their FIH Pro League debut during the 2021-22 season after being invited as a replacement for Canada, who withdrew from the tournament.
Despite being walloped 0-5 by Graham Reid's chargers in the first leg of their Pro League match in South Africa, the French, under the tutelage of Frederic Soyez, tilted the scales to beat the higher-ranked Indians 5-2 in the second leg.
France also held the mighty Netherlands side to a 2-2 draw in the same tournament before losing the shootout. At Buenos Aires, the French team defeated Argentina 2-0 before finishing the elite Pro League with 13 points from 16 matches.
The French colts also won a silver medal at the recently concluded FIH Junior World Cup ahead of the Paris Olympics next year. The Indians would like nothing better than to end their Five-Nations Hockey campaign with a win under the belt. Despite going into the contest as firm favorites, Craig Futon's team will know that France are no pushovers.
Prediction for India vs France at Five-Nations Hockey Event
India 3 - 1 France