Tag: belgium

Hockey World Cup gives hope to the Indian Hockey Team

In the ongoing Hockey World Cup, India is performing well. They have been able to win their first match against Spain. In their second game, India managed to draw the game against England. 

They are being hopeful that they will likely break the 48 years of drought. For that, they will have to win the match against Wales on 19th January. But for this win, they will have to take a big lead. 

In this edition of the World Cup, there are 16 teams. Those have been divided into a group of 4. So, there are four groups namely A to D. India is in group D along with England, Spain and Wales. 

On the competitive front, Belgium and Australia are the favourites to lift the cup in this edition. The tournament is being played for the second time in a row in India. Bhubaneswar and Rourkela are the cities, which are hosting the games.

Currently, on the points table, India and England have 4 points each. But England is on top as they have won the match by a bigger margin.

For this tournament, Odisha has spent an amount of 10.98 billion rupees for the financial year 2022-23. This money has been used to build a new stadium in Rourkela and a facelift to the existing one in Bhubaneswar.

https://unsplash.com/photos/TPZiORGCRBg

The amount has been used to also beautify the two cities. For the unknowns, the stadium that has been built in Rourkela is the biggest Hockey stadium in the world. The stadium can accommodate 20,000 people at the same time.

The matches in the tournament are also going completely packed. The matches are also getting attention on the live telecast the last time India won the Hockey World Cup was in 1975. During that tournament, the final was between India and Pakistan. 

But this time, India has performed well in the Olympics also. They have been previously the Olympic Gold medallist for 8 times. So, the Indian Hockey team is going to give a tough fight to whichever team they will face in the tournament. 

On the player’s front, Hardik Singh did encounter an injury during the match against England. But there is nothing to worry and coach Reid did ensure that he is alright. 

In recent times, the Indian government is also putting in the effort to promote various games other than cricket. States especially, Odisha have been able to promote the hockey game to a great extent. It has also been able to present itself as a state that has given sports equal importance as any other field like education. There have also been good players in the Indian Hockey team from Odisha at a regular pace. 

So, now we will need to patiently wait for the finals to see whether the Indian team manages to lift the World Cup this time or not. The tournament can end in favour of any team, but this event will surely make India a worthy contender for the future several tournaments in various other sports.

Portugal Vs Belgium: Clash of the heavyweights in Euro 2020

Defending champions Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, will take on world’s top-ranked team Belgium in their round of 16 match

Christiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku will face off each other today in the much awaited knockout game of the tournament. Ronaldo is the Euro’s leading scorer after netting five times in the group stage while Lukaku, who is in the form of his life, is lurking behind the Portugal captain with three goals. Juventus forward Ronaldo is also just one goal away from breaking Ali Daei’s all-time international goalscoring record of 109, which he equalled with a brace against France in the European champions’ final Group F game.

The pair will take on each other at the Euro after doing battle in the Serie A scoring charts last season, with 36-year-old Ronaldo being crowned ‘capocannoniere’ after scoring 29 times in a difficult season for Juventus.

However Lukaku pipped Ronaldo to the league’s player of the season award last campaign despite scoring five fewer goals as he played a key role in Inter Milan winning their first league title in over a decade.

Both teams will have their work cut out to reach the July 11 final at Wembley with Italy, who squeezed past Austria on Saturday, and either world champions France or Spain the opponents in the next two rounds if they get beyond the last 16.

However Portugal coach Fernando Santos is “firmly convinced” his side will come out on top in the clash in Seville.

Speaking about Belgium, the coach of Portugal’s football team said “Belgium has a lot of strengths, especially the knowledge they have of each other for having been together for such a long time. Everything flows naturally. They already know where everyone is without having to think about it “

Players to watch out for in today’s big game –

1. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) – There are a lot of players who have the ability to single-handedly change the outcome of games for Belgium. But the player who usually ends up finding the back of the net for the Red Devils is their striker, Lukaku. He is expected to be the dangerman Portugal need to watch out for.

2. Pepe ( Portugal) – Pepe is the bedrock of Portugal’s defense. In the ongoing Euro 2020, he has recovered more balls than any other Portugal player and has also won two tackles in three games thus far. His experience makes him one of the key players for Fernando Santos. Pepe will be given the huge task of keeping Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku when the two teams lock horns on Sunday

3. Kevin de Bruyne( Belgium)– He is a player who possesses the ability to do it all on the pitch. He is great from set-pieces, can score with either foot, create chances out of nothing and has the presence of mind to know when to shoot and when to pass.

4. Eden Hazard ( Belgium)- With the kind of experience, Belgium captain possess it will be difficult for the Portugese defenders to contain him and refrain him for providing assists to their strikers.

5. Christiano Ronaldo ( Portugal)– The Juventus star’s drive and dedication towards being the best player in the world is unparalleled. At the business end of tournaments, like the Round-of-16 clash against Belgium at Euro 2020, Ronaldo tends to up the ante, something the Red Devils will have to be wary of.