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The Indian men's hockey team will take on tournament debutants Wales in their third and final Pool D match of the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup.
While the Indians are assured of a place in the knockouts irrespective of what transpires at the Kalinga Stadium on Thursday, only the top team from the group will gain a direct ticket to the quarterfinals.
England currently lead the group thanks to a better goal difference, while the Indians are in second place with just as many points as the table toppers.
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Graham Reid's boys will have the distinct advantage of knowing exactly what to do before getting onto the pitch against Wales based on the results of the England-Spain contest that will precede the home team's game at the Kalinga Stadium.
A victory for England would mean that the Indians will need to beat Wales by a big margin as the visitors currently have a goal difference of +5 as compared to Harmanpreet Singh and co., who are at +2.
In case of a crossover, the hosts are likely to run into either Malaysia or New Zealand, both of whom haven't been at their best lately but have troubled the Indians a fair bit in the past.
The Malaysians upset Harendra Singh's team in the all-important semifinals of the Asian Games in 2018 while New Zealand got the better of Sjoerd Marijne's boys in the Commonwealth Games semifinals the same year.
IND v WAL match preview and details
Wales, who are playing their first-ever World Cup, have never beaten the Indians. A 4-1 win for India at the 2014 Commonwealth Games was followed by a nervy 4-3 victory in the next edition of the tournament in 2018.
A hat-trick by Harmanpreet Singh powered the Indians to a 4-1 victory over Wales at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year.
While the Welsh side lost to England 0-5 before registering their maiden Hockey World Cup goal en route to a 1-5 drubbing against Spain in Rourkela, they have the dangerous Gareth Furlong in the ranks.
Furlong, who was one of the top scorers in world hockey last year along with Great Britain veterans Rupert Shipperley and Luke Hawker, is the backbone of the side that beat France in the World Cup qualifiers in Cardiff last year.
Expect a goal fest from the Indians who will go all out to perfect their shooting skills ahead of the crucial knockouts that will follow.
Hardik Singh is likely to miss the Wales game on account of injury, but the star midfielder's MRI results have been encouraging, meaning that he should be fit in time for the knockouts.
India vs Wales prediction for Hockey World Cup 2023
India 7 - Wales 1
India vs Wales Hockey World Cup 2023 match Live Streaming details
India vs Wales Hockey World Cup match will take place on Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 7.00 pm IST.
Star Sports Network has acquired the broadcast rights for the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup in India. The match will be live on Star Sports First, Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2 SD, and on the Disney + Hotstar App across the Star Sports Network from 7:00 pm IST.
