With their impressive 3-1 win over defending champion Argentina at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, India men’s hockey team have sealed a top-two spot and hence, a quarterfinals berth. The Manpreet Singh-led squad has won three of their four Pool A matches so far with one defeat coming against world champion Australia.
While India have a theoretical chance of also finishing at the top of their pool, here’s a look who they could possibly face in the last-16 stage.
Scenario 1: Top Spot
With four wins out of four and a massive goal difference of 13, Australia are all but sure of a top spot finish. However, it’s still possible for India to finish at the top of their pool. Should India beat Japan in their final pool match and if Australia lose to Spain in on Friday, both the teams will have same number of points - 12.
However, For India to usurp Australia, they will have to massively improve their goal-difference which currently stands at zero. Or Australia will have to lose by a huge margin (at least a 13-goal difference) followed by India beating Japan by at least one goal. However, even a draw will ensure Australia the top spot.
And should India manage such a result, they will face the fourth-placed team from Pool B in the quarterfinals. Currently, as it stands today, Belgium have confirmed a top-spot finish no matter how their final outing against Great Britain ends - win, lose or draw, they will top the pool. Even though Netherlands and Great Britain have qualified, they will only know about their standings once all teams have played their final pool matches. With Germany suffering an upset defeat at the hands of South Africa, theoretically, they both are fighting for the final quarters spot. Although, Germany have a goal difference of +7 and SA, who have a goal difference of -8, will have to produce a remarkable show or hope Germany lose by a massive margin to advance to the next stage.
Scenario 2: Second Spot
If India finish second, they will face the team that finishes third in Pool B. As is stands, South Africa, even if they win against Canada (already out of QF race) on Friday (and that too by a great margin), they will have six points and cannot finish better than fourth. On the other hand, depending upon the various permutations and combinations, Germany, Netherlands and Great Britain all can finish third.
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