Since Belgium lifted their first ever FIH Hockey World Cup title at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the same venue played host to the opening game of the next edition. FIH Hockey Nations Cup champions South Africa taking on the 2016 Olympic champions Argentina. The opening exchanges had an element of early tournament jitters as neither side were able to create any significant moment of quality, with both offering a glimmer of the threat available as a potential warning sign. Nic Spooner was instrumental for the African champions in curtailing the Argentinean threat in the middle of the park. Argentina ramped up the pressure in the second quarter and were awarded a penalty corner that was superbly saved by Gowan Jones before the next awarded was well defended by Eustice. Argentina was clearly gaining the upper hand, but Gowan Jones was marshalling the defense in the same superb way he did at the Commonwealth Games last year. That period of dominance was halted by Argentina being shown the first card of the game when Nicolas Keenan was given a yellow card for foul play and the South Africans would see out the first half with a player advantage. They were disappointingly not able to capitalize on the number supremacy with the best moment seeing a Bili Ntuli cross narrowly miss the diving attention of Keenan Horne. At half time the tournament was still waiting its first goal. Argentina won a fortuitous penalty corner early in the second half but a poor execution from the Argentines saw Jones untroubled in the goal for the Africans. The South Africans were doing well at extinguishing the Argentine and finally had their first penalty corner opportunity in the 40th minute. The attempted variation was defended by the Argentines and the stalemate continued. It was Argentina who struck first when Maica Casella inched in front of Gowan Jones with the slightest touch and the ball bundled home to give the South Americans the lead. They had the opportunity before the break with another penalty corner, but they wasted it again. 15 minutes remained in the opening match. South Africa won a penalty corner after a superb referral from Dayaan Cassiem. The first was charged down with a foot. But the second saw Jacques van Tonder effort charged down superbly. Although they had the opportunity to create on the break the Argentines were frustrated by their lack of effectiveness. They were however awarded two penalty corners with the chance to stretch the lead, but they failed to add to the score line. Ryan Julius created his own pocket of space and went for the slap finish, but it was easily saved by Santiago. Tevin Kok then had a reverse stick shot saved, this one a lot tougher for Santiago as the Africans desperately looked for and equalizer. Dayaan Cassiem asked the next question and was rewarded with a penalty corner. The run was charged down and blown for danger, but the South Africans immediately referred but the on-field decision was upheld with four minutes remaining. Argentina slowed the game down at every opportunity as the final minutes approached. There was time for the South Africans to ask one more question but the Argentines were able to answer it and seal an opening day victory. South Africa next play France on Monday in a pivotal game of Pool A. Source: SAHockey.co.za

Bhubaneswar, India – With just 1 day to go for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, the players and coaches of all teams have spoken to express their expectations. David Ames, Captain (England) “India is always an exciting place to come and play hockey. We are looking forward to playing against big teams and registering some famous victories in the tournament. I think we are a contender for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela trophy. There is a lot of belief in our camp as everyone is confident about their abilities.” Thierry Brinkman, Captain (Netherlands)  “The last few months in the build-up to the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela have been pretty good for us. The team is completely ready for the tournament. It is amazing to be here again and we are excited to play in front of the hockey fans in the tournament.” Jorge Dabanch, Head Coach (Chile) “It will be interesting to play in Rourkela as they have built a new stadium here and the crowd is amazing as well. There are many top teams in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela and we will look to register a win against these top sides in the tournament.” Akira Takahashi, Head Coach (Japan) “We have played in India before and are excited to be here for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. Our team has some good players who can play well against the top sides in the tournament and it will be a pleasure to play in front of such a big crowd. The tournament is filled with top teams and we are ready to face them and produce exciting results.” Frederic Soyez, Head Coach (France) “We are not looking for the title at the moment. Our team is focused on the first match of the tournament right now and then we will see where we end up. We prepared for this tournament with an aim to do better than last year and I think we have the quality to perform well against the top teams.” Alvaro Iglesias, Captain (Spain)  “We know the stadium in Rourkela is bigger. We know there will be a lot more crowd there. It will be hard to listen to our teammates and the instructions from the referee as well. But it will be an incredibly exciting atmosphere and we are really looking forward to playing here,” Lee Namyong, Captain (Korea)  “Our players are excited to be here and we have big ambitions in the tournament. We want to do well and have confidence that we will be able to win the big matches in FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. Our team has a lot of experience and it will be crucial for us.” Rupert Shipperley, Captain (Wales)  “We are here to win, it’s as simple as that. We are not here to just make up the numbers, we are here to cause an upset. We are looking forward to playing India in front of their fans, it is going to be a special occasion. We have faced all the teams in our pool before and we know what to expect, we are just raring to go now.” Greg Nicol, Head Coach (New Zealand) “We came to Bhubaneswar not so long ago to play in the FIH Pro League and are excited to come to Odisha again for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. The crowd here is fantastic and our team really enjoys playing in this atmosphere, especially in the World Cup. It’s a major tournament for our sport and hopefully, we can play well and get some wins.” Marhan Jalil, Captain (Malaysia) “We are fully prepared for the World Cup and will look to do our best on the pitch. Our group is tough as we have teams like the Netherlands and New Zealand in it and it will be an uphill task to beat them. However, we have full belief in ourselves and the matches will be exciting for the players.” Andre Henning, Head Coach (Germany)  “We had a strong year as we won 13 FIH Pro League matches and were between 5th and 6th in the World Rankings. So, we are looking forward to playing in the tournament and if we reach the semis that would be a big success. However, our ultimate aim is to win the World Cup trophy.” Eddie Ockenden, Captain (Australia)   “Our players are really excited to be here and we have big ambitions in the tournament. We want to do well and have confidence that we will be able to win the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela title. Our team has a lot of experience and it will be really crucial for us.” Cheslyn Gie, Head Coach (South Africa) “We think the games against Australia and Argentina will definitely be the toughest for us in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. It is an exciting prospect for the players to have two venues, and if we get to play India it will be an experience as the whole stadium becomes very vibrant due to the fans.” Matias Rey, Captain (Argentina) “We take inspiration from Lionel Messi and our football team who won the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. They did a great job and we will try to repeat the same thing at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, it will be difficult but we are motivated and want to win the tournament and make the country proud.” Felix Denayer, Captain (Belgium) “I think the tournament will be a challenge, but we also have the experience so we feel confident and we are very hungry to retain the trophy. We are an ambitious group. And I think we need these kinds of challenges to perform at our best level,” Harmanpreet Singh, Captain (India) “There is anticipation and excitement in equal measure. As

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