Struggling India take on Germany in Hockey World League Finals

Indian hockey team

New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS): India will be desperate for a positive outing against Olympic champions Germany here Monday after suffering two straight losses which has put them at the bottom of Group A in the Hockey World League Finals.

The hosts have clearly struggled against higher-ranked teams in the tournament, losing 0-2 to England Friday and 1-3 to New Zealand Saturday.

India can expect the Germans to come hard at them in their final league match after their surprise 1-2 loss to England Saturday. All eight teams in the competition make the quarterfinals irrespective of where they finish in the two groups.

India head coach Terry Walsh has already said that his team’s performance has been “sub-standard and unacceptable”, adding that the intensity of the practice sessions has not been carried over to the match day.

German coach Markus Weise, however, reckons that it won’t be easy against the home team.

“There is no difference in comparison to the other games. It is just another game, it is a good team. It is their home game. Does not make a difference to me. It is not more important than any other game. For them it is probably the same. Maybe they are in a very tough training phase. I don’t know I cannot tell so seeing one game I can’t judge a team, that is not fair,” said Weise.