India look to make net gain vs Wales

Indervir Grewal

Bhubaneswar, January 18

“Aaram se!” That was India coach Graham Reid’s message to his strikers on the eve of the host team’s final pool game in the World Cup.

India face Wales tomorrow with the top place in the pool, and direct qualification for the quarterfinals, on the line. Beating world No. 14 Wales should not be difficult for No. 5 India. Wales, who have suffered two big defeats, seem to be running out of gas.

However, with the likelihood that the top place would be decided on goal difference between India, Spain and England, the hosts’ forwardline will need to fire on all cylinders against Wales.

In their opening two games – 2-0 win over Spain and 0-0 draw with England – India struggled to convert their scoring chances.

But Reid was not worried. “I told my forwards to show calmness, aaraam se, when they get in scoring positions,” Reid said. “They seem to be hurrying, panicking and not making the right decisions; those sorts of things can happen in the heat of the moment,” he added.

Reid, though, was happy that his team was creating chances. “Against England, we made better choices, there were some good shots on goal, our positioning was okay,” he said.

England lead the pool on four points, above India on goal difference, while Spain are third on three points. With the two European teams going head-to-head just before India’s game, the hosts will find out their position in advance. “It’s probably an advantage knowing what your objective is. It’s also motivating,” Reid said.