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Pool C teams return to action on Day 5 of the Hockey World Cup 2018. The first match of the day will be played between Canada and South Africa.
While South Africa received a 0-5 drubbing at the hands of hosts India, Canada suffered a 1-2 loss to Rio Olympics Silver medallists Belgium in their first match of the tournament. The Canadians showed great resilience against the Red Lions, who were the much higher-ranked opponents Belgium (World Rank 3).
Both teams find themselves on the wrong end of the table as they have 0 points on board. The result in this encounter will be vital for both Canada and South Africa -- both of which will be aiming to make it to the crossover stage.
South Africa, who finished 11th at the 2014 Hockey World Cup, are captained by Tim Drummond. Mandeep, Akashdeep, Simranjeet, Lalit -- all found the back of the net for India in their 5-0 win against the South Africans. A high-pressing game from India was too hot to handle for Mark Hopkins and his troops. It will be interesting to see if Mark Hopkins goes with the same strategy he used against India or tweak it a little for the match against Canada.
Canada, ranked 11 as per FIH rankings, will be significantly higher on confidence as compared to the South Africans. Paul Bundy's boys really showcased some mesmerizing stick play in brief intervals during their match against Belgium and even their defence was closely knit. Even though the Canadians were on the losing end, they gave a tough fight to the formidable Red Lions.
Here is all you need to know about the upcoming match between Canada and South Africa:
Event: Men's Hockey World Cup 2018
Venue: Bhubaneswar, India
Date: 2 December 2018
Time: 5:00 pm Indian Standard Time (IST)
Telecast:
India: Star Sports, Star Sports HD
UK: BT Sport
Australia: Fox Sports
Spain: Eurosport
New Zealand: Sky Sports (NZ)
Argentina: ESPN
South Africa: SuperSport
Live Streaming: Hotstar, FIH Official Youtube Channel
Live Updates: Sportskeeda
Prediction:
The North Americans will be having the upper hand in the match against South Africa, who, in turn, will have to give it their all in case they want to bounce back in the tournament. They were on the brink of causing an upset against Belgium which makes them the favourites for this match. The Canadians are expected to sit deep as they did against Belgium and break on the counter to score a goal. A low scoring match is on the cards.
Score Prediction: Canada 2 - 1 South Africa
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