INDIA: Spain defeated Wales 5-1 in a Pool D game, with goals from Marc Reyna and Marc Miralles, to earn their first victory in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup.
Reyna scored the first goal of the game in the 16th minute and the fourth goal in the 38th minute, while Miralles scored the third goal of the game in the 32nd minute and the fifth goal in the 56th minute. The team’s captain, Alvaro Iglesias, scored the second goal of the match in the 22nd minute.
James Carson scored the lone goal for Wales in the 52nd minute. Wales suffered their second straight defeat, while Spain won their first match of this World Cup.
Spain had previously lost 0-2 to tournament hosts India, and Wales had previously lost 0-5 to England. Spain will play against England in their final group game on January 19 in Bhubaneswar, while Wales will play against India.
Before the game, Maximiliano Caldas, the Spanish coach, was dissatisfied with the performance and hoped for a better showing in their last game against India.
The two-time finalist desired a victory with a wide margin to strengthen its prospects of moving forward because both England and India have higher goal differentials.
“We did not play the game the way we wanted to. We ran too much with the ball and lost it too much. We would have preferred to control the ball and keep it in our hands for longer periods of time. We didn’t perform well, and we intend to improve,” said Caldas following Spain’s defeat to India.
England, India, and Spain all have one win, while Wales still hasn’t won a game. The pool will become more competitive following today’s match between India and England.
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