Women's Hockey World Cup 2022 : India vs Spain Highlights

India have crashed out of the Women’s Hockey World Cup 2022. In a do or die clash on Sunday, India suffered a 1-0 defeat. Marta Segu scored the only goal of the match. 

The crossover match ended in a heartbreak for India, as the side conceded a goal with merely over 200 seconds left for the full-time hooter. It had been a closely-contested game in the first-three quarters but the hosts pulled out a stunning performance in the final quarter, outclassing and outlasting the Indian players on the pitch to seal a passage to the quarter-finals.

Spain will now meet the mighty Australians for a place in the semi-final; India, meanwhile, take on Canada in the 9th-16th place classification match on July 11. India ended their main campaign in the tournament without a win, with two games ending in a draw (both 1-1 against England and China), while two ended in defeats (3-4 to New Zealand and 0-1 to Spain).

The tournament format states that the four group toppers will qualify directly for the quarter-finals while the remaining second and third-placed sides will face each other in a series of Crossover matches.

The quarter-finals get underway on 12 July with New Zealand taking on Germany and co-hosts Netherlands facing Belgium. Germany and Belgium had emerged winners in the first round of Crossover matches that took place on Saturday, 9 July, beating South Africa (1-0) and Chile (5-0) respectively.

Australia and Argentina are the other teams that have qualified directly for the quarters, and will face the winners of the remaining Crossover matches. While the winner of the India-Spain clash faces two-time champions Australia, Argentina will be up against the winner of the other Crossover clash between England and Korea.