Hosts India will open their FIH men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 campaign against dangerous Spain at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela on Friday (January 13). Harmanpreet Singh’s side have not won a medal in the hockey World Cup for the past 48 years but managed to bring home a bronze medal from Tokyo Olympics in 2021.


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India will have to be wary of less-experienced Spanish players in their tournament-opener since ‘experience is a bit overrated’ in major tournaments like World Cup, home team’s coach Graham Reid said on Thursday. Most of the Spanish players have played less than 100 international matches while India has a mix of experienced players – who have played more than 100 matches -- and youngsters also.


The former Australian international said it is not necessary that having experienced players will lead to a terrific show. He also maintained that there is no substitute for playing ‘best’ hockey on the day. “It is our home World Cup, we have to play our best. That is the key for us to win this tournament, which we think we can,” Reid said at the pre-match press conference.


“Experience is a little bit overrated sometimes in big tournaments like this and we have to play our best, that is the key.”


India vs Spain Hockey World Cup 2023 Match Details


Venue: Birsa Munda Intenational Hockey Stadium, Rourkela


Date & Time: January 13, 7pm IST onwards


Live Streaming and TV details: Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar website and app.


India vs Spain Hockey World Cup 2023 Dream11 Prediction


Fantasy Suggestion: PR Sreejesh, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Ignacio Rodriguez, Varun Kumar, Akashdeep Singh, Marc Miralles, Manpreet Singh, Lacalle Borja Mandeep Singh, Joaquin Menini


Captain: Akashdeep Singh


Vice-captain: Harmanpreet Singh


India vs Spain Hockey World Cup 2023 Probable Playing XI


India: PR Sreejesh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Shamsher Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay


Spain: Adrian Rafi, Marc Vizcaino, Marc Recasens, Ignacio Rodriguez, Cesar Curiel, Jordi Bonastre, Marc Miralles, Lacalle Borja, Joaquin Menini, Alvaro Iglesias, Enrique Gonzalez