The Indian men’s hockey team suffered a major setback in their hopes of ending a 51-year drought without a medal in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup after losing their second first-round game against England 4-2 at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, as they failed to end a 32-year wait to beat the Europeans in the mega event.

The Men in Saffron now face a tricky final game in the group stage against arch-rivals Pakistan. The 1975 champions will beat the four-time champions at the same venue in the Netherlands on Wednesday (August 19).

Currently, India are second in the group with three points, while England have sealed their place in the second group and are likely to finish first too. Pakistan and Wales played out a 3-3 game earlier today after losing their respective opening games.

FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup Group D Standings After India vs England

The much-hyped India-Pakistan game will have a lot at stake. The Harmanpreet Singh-led team need to ensure they do not lose the match. A defeat will mean that they are knocked out of the tournament, as the Men in Green will have more points in that scenario. If India win the fixture, they will qualify regardless of the result in the Wales-England game.

Meanwhile, if India draws the game, they will have to keep an eye on what happens when England and Wales meet. The good news is that those two countries, based in the United Kingdom, will play before the South Asian neighbours take the field, which will mean that they know what they need to do in the fixture.

India will qualify with a draw if England beat Wales or the game is a draw. In case Wales win the fixture, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist needs to hope that the margin of victorry is only one goal. If they win by two goals and India and Pakistan play a draw, the team with more goals will qualify.

To finish first in the group and hope England does not carry forward points, India needs to win their match and hope Wales beats England and makes up a goal difference of five goals.