Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: 5 teams with the best defence

"Teams with a good attack can win a match, but teams with a solid defence win tournaments."

Words of wisdom from Harendra Singh - the coach who guided the Indian juniors to a historic World Cup gold in 2016, and who was a defender himself during his playing days.

It was often said that Asian giants India and Pakistan never had a defensive DNA but the advent of European coaches to the subcontinent has, to an extent, altered their playing pattern with a lot more emphasis on tightening up at the back.

The Indians, in particular, now have a solid defensive structure in place and have become adept at knowing when to contain their attacking instincts, retain possession, and fall behind in numbers based on how things unfold on the field of play.

Yet, the staid, thorough, and sometimes dull monotonous routine of precision passing in one's own territory for long periods, before effecting sudden changes in gear to surge forward continues to be the hallmark of many European sides.

While long breathtaking solo runs may please the galleries no end, doing the less spectacular chores at the back-end repeatedly, and scrupulously, is what lays the foundation for a truly world-class side.

Let's take a look at five teams whose defences will be truly tough to breach at Bhubaneswar.

#5 England

Liam Sanford is fast making his mark as a dependable customer, and Mikey Hoare has thwarted many an attack since he first took on the Indians in the 2012 Champions Trophy.

Adam Dixon has over 230 international caps to his credit while the English need to thank Mark Gleghorne for choosing to shore up their defence while brother Paul chose to play for Ireland.

The English who have always hovered at the very edge of greatness - finishing fourth at the Delhi World Cup in 2014, and fourth again in the The Hague last time around, will be looking to their defenders to perform to their potential if they are to finish atop the podium at Bhubaneswar.

No one who has followed English hockey will have any doubt as to the capabilities of Sanford, Dixon, Gleghorne, or the relatively inexperienced Luke Taylor - the only question being if they can withstand the pressure of the biggest stage.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest Hockey live scores, schedule, points table, results, previews & much more.

#4 Argentina

Argentina's defence has to hold firm if the South Americans are to go all the way — Argentina's

Pedro Ibarra is, without doubt, the pivot around whom the Argentine defence, and indeed the team operates. Argentina's defenders - the unsung heroes of the Los Leonos went about their business in a workmanlike manner at Rio.

Lucas Rossi has been clearing the lines, mopping up, and carrying the ball out of danger ever since the London Olympics of 2012, and has played a vital role for his side ever since. Juan Gilardi, who was Rossi's gold-medal winning teammate at Rio along with Gonzalo Peillat have been the mainstay of the defence for the South Americans.

At Bhubaneswar, last December, Argentina, who were winless in the pool stages, suddenly regained their form in the knockouts of the Hockey World League Finals.

A wet pitch and hostile weather conditions did little to dampen their spirits, and a lone goal from Peillat was enough to power his team to the final as their defence held firm to thwart repeated onslaughts from the Indian forward line.

For a team which relies heavily upon PCs earned through well-thought-out advances, the defence will need to stand up and deliver each time, unlike in the Champions Trophy where the Argentinians seemed rather porous at the back

#3 Netherlands

The Dutch have, of late, transformed into a side with loads of flair, but have the expertise to keep the best strikers in the world at bay as well.

Sander Baart, who interestingly, has Belgian roots, has been manning Holland's defence for almost a decade now. The 30-year-old defender was part of the Dutch squad which won silver at the Delhi World Cup in 2010 and silver at home in 2014.

The Germans are quite familiar with the kind of resistance that their neighbours and long-time rivals can offer, but, in Bhubaneswar, their Asian group mates in Pool D - Malaysia and Pakistan, may well face a formidable hurdle in trying to weave their way past Baart, alongside Mink van der Weeden, and Glenn Schuurman in the Dutch defence.

At the Champions Trophy at Breda, earlier this year, Max Caldas' side were without van der Weeden but conceded just 7 goals, in 6 matches, during the course of the entire tournament.

It will be fascinating to witness the battle between the free-flowing Asians pitted against a resolute European defensive style in the World Cup's Group of Death.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest Men's Hockey World Cup live scores, schedule, points table, results, previews & much more.

#2 Belgium

The Red Lions are solid as ever defensively

With a central defender of the calibre of Loick Luypaert in the team, the Red Lions began their march to ascendancy and have stunned the hockey world by climbing the rungs faster than any other European team.

Ranked tenth a decade ago, Shane McLeod's side are now third in the world rankings and it would be fair to say that a solid defensive unit is at the heart of that success.

Luypaert who won the Golden Stick as a junior, in 2011, was not picked for the Olympic Games at London in 2012 where his team ended up fifth but came back strongly to cement his place in the squad.

Before losing the Olympic final to Argentina a couple of years back, the Belgians had just 7 goals against, in as many matches, with Arthur van Doren, Gauthier Boccard, and Emmanuel Stockbroekx, supporting Luypaert at the back, and making the opposition strikers toil hard.

All four silver medalists who provided the defensive cover at Rio will be in action at Bhubaneswar to pose a stiff challenge to India in the pool stages and, perhaps a few others in the latter stages of the competition.

#1 Germany

For all those who believe that the Germans have underperformed over the last few years, a closer look at the statistics may suggest otherwise.

At the Rio Olympics, it was the Germans who were unbeaten in the group stages with 4 wins and a draw, and ended up at the top of the heap in Group B with 13 points ahead of the Netherlands and eventual gold-medalists Argentina (who, incidentally had just two wins and 8 points courtesy of a couple of draws.)

Yet, when Germany met Argentina in the semifinals, a stellar PC hattrick from the great Gonzalo Peillat, propelled the South Americans to the final, while the Germans had to eventually settle for bronze.

Irrespective of the result, the Germans have, arguably, the best defensive unit, simply because every single player possesses defensive skills, and do not hesitate to fall back with the same lightning speed with which they advance.

The Indians are recently playing a similar brand of total hockey and the reason for the change is hardly surprising.

Even before taking over the men's side, coach Harendra Singh, who was the Indian eves at Gold Coast, mentioned, in an interview to Sportskeeda what the concept of defence meant to him.

"What is defence? When we don't have the ball, all ten players must try and regain possession within a certain timeframe to put the opponent on the back foot. All ten players have to defend when required.

"Take the example of Germany. All their players know how to defend and attack."

Three-time Olympian and two-time World Cupper Tobias Hauke will be hoping that his third World Cup, at Bhubaneswar, will conclude with a third title for the Germans who won gold in 2002 and 2006.

Hauke, essentially, a midfielder who often takes up defensive positions, was awarded the Player of the Year Award by the FIH in 2013 for his brilliant performances and continues to excel at the highest level.

While elder brother Mats does the work up front, Tom Grambusch will be on hand to provide able support to Hauke, in the German circle, along with the highly-experienced veterans Martin Haner, Matthias Muller, and Lukas Windfeder.