India will take on Spain in their fifth FIH Pro League encounter of the season as the caravan moves from Bhubaneswar to Rourkula. Craig Fulton’s side have won two, lost one on penalties and lost one in their last four games.
It was an ideal start to the Olympic year as India has been exposed to various challenges throughout the four Games and has been put in different scenarios and needs to find solutions.
In the first match against Spain, India won 4-1 in a match in which they were in control for most parts. It was the most complete performance in the previous four matches, but India’s various flaws came to the fore in the next three matches.
Fulton has made it clear that he wants India to control the game better. So far, they have struggled a bit to find a balance between attack and defense. For example, after leading 4-2 at half-time against Australia, India sat too deep, inviting pressure from Australia, which they were ultimately unable to prevent and lost 6-4.
In the subsequent game against Ireland, India struggled to find a way through a thick defence, often lacking ideas to break through Ireland, until Gurjant Singh scored the winning goal with a minute left.
With four matches now in Rourkela against teams they have already faced once, India will be looking for slight improvements to make them a better team ahead of the Olympics in July.
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