The Indian women’s hockey team are all set to conclude a brilliant campaign at the women’s hockey World Cup on Thursday, August 27. India defied odds and came to the brink of making it to the semi-finals, but will now look to bounce back and finish off their campaign with a win over Germany in the 5th-6th place match.
India suffered only one defeat during the whole campaign, coming against the defending champions the Netherlands. They secured a big win against South Africa and held China, England and Australia. The draw against Australia would end their semi-final race in heartbreaking fashion, but there is a lot for the Indian eves to be proud of.
HOCKEY WORLD CUP 2026: FULL COVERAGE
The tournament will be seen in positive light and a step in the right direction.
The match against Germany has a couple of sub-plots attached to it. Firstly, it will help them gain momentum heading into the Asian Games next month, where they will look to secure their place in the LA Olympics with a gold medal win. Coach Sjoerd Marijne said his side has got some good rest before the clash in Amstelveen.
“This rest was crucial to recover from the setback in the previous match. Now, the team will play against Germany with renewed vigour and freshness,” Marijne said to PTI.
“The team has overcome the disappointment of not reaching the semifinals and is now fully focused on defeating Germany and leaving the tournament with a win. We want to improve our game and perform better for the Asian Games.”
India vs Germany match at the Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026 can be watched live on Star Sports and livestreamed on JioHotstar app.
WILL A FAMILIAR FACE HAUNT INDIA?
Now comes the main sub-plot to the story and it is in the form of Germany coach Janneke Schopman. The Indian eves will be up against their former coach in the form of Schopman.
The former Dutch women’s team star joined India in 2020 as their analytical coach and working under Marijne and helped them secure a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
After Marijne left, she was elevated to the position of head coach and served in the role till February 2024. However, she didn’t leave in the best of terms.
In an emotional rant, Schopman talked about how she felt marginalised in her role, taking a dig at the Hockey India officials. There will be a point to prove for the 2008 Olympics gold medal winner and she will look to come back and haunt her former side.
World No. 5 Germany ended their Pool F campaign in third place, registering victories over Scotland and the USA while suffering defeats to Argentina and co-hosts Belgium in the second round.
Their final-match win over Spain ultimately sealed third spot in the pool. Marijne is aware of the threat posed by the German side, who performed well in practice matches against India.
“Germany is a very good team, and we couldn’t beat them in the two practice matches before the World Cup. However, our focus will be on improving our performance. It doesn’t matter against whom we play, the focus is on us ,” Marijne said.
INDIA VS GERMANY: HEAD-TO-HEAD
India and Germany have faced each other in 10 matches so far with the European side winning seven out of them. India will take solice from the fact that they did beat Germany in their last match with them by a 1-0 margin during the FIH Pro League 2024-25 season.
INDIA’S ATTACK NEEDS TO STEP UP
While the Indian goalkeepers and the defence showed why they are one of the best in the business, the Indian attack has left a lot to be desired.
They haven’t capitalised in matches against England, Netherlands and Australia and that proved to end their hopes of making it to the semi-finals.
If India need to secure a fifth place, their best since 1974, then the strikers will need to step up.
India have scored just eight goals, with six of them coming against South Africa. At the same time, Germany have scored 13. However, their defence has been a bit shaky and have conceded eight so far in the campaign.
Both teams haven’t been the best when comes to penalty corner conversion, scoring just three. India will need Navneet and Deepika to bring their A-game against their former coach to ensure their side can finish on a high.
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