India beaten 5-3 by Argentina in Amstelveen, miss men's World Cup semi
India were beaten 5-3 by Argentina in Amstelveen in the men's hockey World Cup on Monday, August 24, eliminating them from the semi-final race; Sukhjeet scored twice and Hardik Singh converted a penalty stroke while Argentina extended their winning streak against India to five matches.
India entered the match needing to beat Argentina by two or more goals and hope the Netherlands did them a favour; head coach Craig Fulton said he wanted his side to learn from the Netherlands game, where they defended resolutely for almost three quarters. The campaign began with high expectations, but the team’s lack of efficiency in front of goal and difficulties handling pressure left them with a forgettable World Cup.
Argentina set the tone inside the opening minute when, with 40 seconds on the clock, Joaquin Toscani cut through on the right and produced a strike to give his side the lead; they compounded India’s early problems by converting a penalty corner through Nicolas del Torre, who hit the ball through the middle past Mohith.
India’s defensive fragility had precedent: right from the Pro League first leg they conceded 12 goals against Argentina at home, and during this tournament they conceded eight in the group phase and another in phase two. The team’s switch to man-to-man pressing in attack and zonal defending created confusion, with Harmanpreet deployed high and others left to cope with Argentina’s quick forwards.
India pulled one back through Sukhjeet in the 10th minute and then began to hold more possession, but they produced limited attacking returns; by half-time India had 54.5 percent possession yet trailed Argentina in circle entries (6-10), shots on target (1-5) and penalty conversion. Abhishek had been quiet since his brace against Pakistan, Mandeep Singh was described as past his prime, and Amit Rohidas missed a simple trap that almost let an Argentine forward through on goal.
Selection choices also drew attention: India did not use Vivek Sagar Prasad and Jugraj SIngh for the do-or-die match, with the report noting Jugraj had been at fault for goals in the loss to England in the group stage and had been pulled off the field; Sanjay was left as the next dragflick option after Harmanpreet. Argentina began the third quarter with a penalty corner and then Tomas Domene scored with a fine strike that the report said left Mohith with no chance; the piece adds that Tomas Domene had scored six goals before the game and had nine goals against India before this clash.
India were awarded four consecutive penalty corners but Harmanpreet was kept out each time, and a back pass from youngster Yashdeep set up a penalty stroke which Tomene converted for his second of the match from the spot.
In the final quarter Lucas Toscani beat three defenders to make it 5-1, extending the recent scoring trend — Argentina had netted 18 goals in their last four games against India and the tally passed the 20 barrier in this fixture — before Sukhjeet and Hardik added late goals. India will wait for the England vs Netherlands result to determine any remaining semi-final permutations and will now meet Belgium in the 7th-8th place tie on Friday, August 28.