The visuals, under the gloomy skies in Amstelveen at the Wagener Stadion, painted quite the picture.
Late in the third quarter, England came from behind to retake the lead when Henry Croft, under little pressure from Jugraj Singh, had the time and space to receive the ball, take a few touches, turn and fire it past Mohith HS. Before the restart, the rolling subs were called for and Jugraj, once again, showed no urgency to get off the pitch, forcing head coach Craig Fulton to furiously give him the marching orders.
After the opening day win, where there were still several questions left to be answered, the Indian men’s team came up with none in its FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup Pool D 2-4 defeat against World No. 3 England.
AS IT HAPPENED | India vs England Highlights
Coming into the tournament, England boasted the best defensive record of the year. In its 17 matches, it conceded just a goal per game, a remarkable number by hockey standards. Yet, India recovered from the James Bandurak opener to score two, one from a Harmanpreet Singh rocket dragflick and another from forward Dilpreet Singh, after some neat work from Hardik Singh and Abhishek Nain by the byline.
But as it did in the first quarter, India struggled against England’s man-to-man full court press, which forced turnovers in compromising areas of the pitch. England’s pressure paid off in the 38th minute when Stuart Rushmere stretched to get on the end of Liam Sanford’s fired in pass as the ball sailed past Mohith. A few minutes later, Mohith looked on helplessly as Croft added a third to make it 3-2.
EXPLAINED | India Hockey World Cup qualification scenarios: How can Harmanpreet and Co. advance after England loss?
India showed urgency in the fourth quarter, but even as England had two green card penalties, it lacked ideas and composure inside the circle to find a reply. Bandurak, who had earlier capitalised on India’s defensive lapse for his first goal, put India out of its misery when he fired home from a Penalty Corner to ensure table-topper England a place in the next round.
While India could still reach the next round, this result will only make its path to the semifinals harder.
The Indian women’s team will face off against South Africa on Tuesday.
Published on Aug 17, 2026
