It was an India show all the way as the host stamped its authority to register a comprehensive 5-3 victory over England in its second Pool-D match of the junior World Cup here on Saturday and ensure a spot in the quarterfinals in the process.
India outplayed the opposition in every department of the game. Despite conceding an early goal against the run of play, there were no signs of the team losing control and soon came back to open up the field and score at regular intervals.
For England, it was not an option but a forced decision from an aggressive India. The first five minutes saw the host create several scoring chances but missing out on the finishing.
One defensive lapse in the 10th minute saw James Gall pass through four defenders on the top of the circle for Jack Clee to scoop into the net but that was just about all.
The extremely quick Indian players attacked in waves, opening up the flanks at will and sending the ball right into the centre of the England circle from all sides.
India captain Harjeet Singh stood out as much for his ball distribution and penetrating passes as for his ability to draw defenders and open up gaps in defence.
Varun Kumar’s passing was pin-pointed and the forwards’ trapping was firm. Harmanpreet and Varun, along with Dipsan Tirkey, hardly allowed any English ball to reach the Indian circle. And Parvinder Singh and Mandeep upfront, along with Armaan Qureshi and Gurjant Singh on either wing, formed a combination that England had no answer to.
The results: Pool A: Austria 5 (Pit Rudofsky 2, Marcel Hilbert, Oliver Binder, Franz Lindengrun) bt Korea 2 (Joohan Park 2); Australia 2 (Matthew Bird, Blake Govers) bt Argentina 1 (Maico Casella).
Pool D: South Africa 3 (Kyle Lion-Cachet, Ryan Crowe, Walter Pfaff) bt Canada 1 (Brandon Pereira); India 5 (Parvinder Singh, Armaan Qureshi, Harmanpreet Singh, Simranjit Singh, Varun Kumar) bt England 3 (Jack Clee, Will Calnan, Edward Horler) .
