'New Zealand have nothing to lose; pressure will be on us. I hope our team will stand up. If we play our best we can beat any team in the world.'
New Zealand have nothing to lose. It is India who will be under pressure in Sunday’s knock-out crossover match against the Black Sticks in the men's Hockey World Cup, says Graham Reid, the home side’s head coach.
India go into the match after a below par 4-2 win over tournament debutants Wales, which has forced them to play in the crossovers instead of a direct quarter-final berth, which they would have played had they topped Pool D.
The hosts, who finished second in the pool, behind England, will face defending champions Belgium in the quarter-finals if they beat New Zealand.
"New Zealand have nothing to lose from their point of view and pressure will be on us. I hope our team will stand up and, as I said earlier, if we play our best we can beat any team in the world," said Reid ahead of the match on Saturday.’
“As an Australian myself, I know that New Zealand are always tough and we (India) have total respect for them. I am also confident that we will do our job (and win)," he added.
Playing at home in front of a packed stadium, India are seeking their first podium finish after the gold in the 1975 edition, but the home side is facing the pressure of expectation.
India beat New Zealand twice just a few months ago at the Kalinga Stadium in the Pro League matches and Reid is hoping that the same result will continue.
"We had beaten them twice then. Moreover, our defensive unit is more settled (and better) now than that time. So, we are looking forward to the match."
Lack of finishing has been one of the main issues for India in the three pool matches.
Asked about that, Reid said, "I agree that we are lacking in finishing the opportunities we have created. But I would have been more worried had we not created opportunities. I am confident that we will be better in that aspect also."
He said it was disappointing that injured midfielder Hardik Singh was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament as he could not recover.
"But it is exciting for Raj Kumar Pal (reserve player) to come in for Hardik. He (Pal) is one of our players for the future. He is in good form. He has silky skills and has worked a lot in defence.
"Fresh legs are always important in the middle of the tournament. So, disappointing for Hardik to miss out but we have enough talent to fill up."
Captain Harmanpreet said his team will look to reduce the mistakes and work to even score from 50-50 chances.
"As a team, our endeavour should be to cut down the mistakes and convert the opportunities that came our way, even the 50-50 chances," said Harmanpreet, who scored his first goal from the penalty-corner against Wales on Thursday.
"We will try to put pressure (on New Zealand) from the start. If we do that, we can create chances and penalty-corners, and we can score goals early."
