‘We got off to a bad start’: Craig Fulton laments slow start as India crashes out of Hockey World Cup semi-finals | hockey news

India’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 came to an end on Monday after a 5-3 loss against Argentina in their final Group E match at the Wagener Hockey Stadium.India head coach Craig Fulton admitted his team’s slow start and inability to handle the pressure of a must-win match proved costly as Argentina took control early and held on despite a late comeback from India.“Today was a difficult day. We didn’t want to end like that. We started badly, but the second quarter was much better. The third quarter wasn’t good, but then we scored three goals in the last quarter and we could have also scored the fourth from a corner,” Fulton told PTI after the loss.“Overall, it was a really strange match. We played at a high level in the tournament, but in the important matches we have to do better,” he added.Fulton also acknowledged that the qualifying permutations surrounding India’s hopes in the semi-finals affected the team’s performance.“There were a lot of permutations in this game that got the better of us. In the last 10 minutes, we played better hockey. That was a little late,” he said.

Argentina makes India pay for slow start

India’s problems began almost immediately when Argentina scored just 41 seconds into the match. Joaquín Toscani found the net from a tight angle to give Argentina an early lead. The world number 7 team doubled their lead in the 16th minute when Nicolas della Torre converted a penalty corner.India responded through Sukhjeet Singh, who closed the gap in the 10th minute with a field goal after a well-worked move involving Abhishek. India had spells of possession in the second quarter but struggled to make the most of their opportunities in the final third. Neither team managed to score in the second quarter, leaving Argentina 2-1 up at halftime.

Argentina pulls away in the third quarter

India needed a strong response in the second half but instead fell further behind. Three minutes into the third quarter, Tomas Domene took advantage of a break in the center of the field to make it 3-1. India earned several penalty corners as they searched for a way back, but captain Harmanpreet Singh could not find a breakthrough.Argentina was then awarded a penalty just before the end of the quarter after an Indian defensive error. Domene made no mistake from the penalty spot, completing his second goal of the match and putting Argentina up 4-1. The deficit was further exacerbated in the final quarter when Lucas Toscani scored in the 53rd minute to make it 5-1.India finally found their attacking rhythm late in the match. Sukhjeet Singh scored his second goal in the 58th minute with a clever deflection before Hardik Singh converted a penalty two minutes later to reduce the deficit to 5-3.India then earned another penalty corner in the final seconds, but Argentine goalkeeper Tomas Santiago made the crucial save as the final horn sounded. With their semi-final campaign over, India will now turn their attention to the qualifying playoff, where they will face co-hosts Belgium in the seventh place match on Friday, August 28. India finished at the bottom of Group E without a point, having also suffered a 3-1 defeat against the Netherlands.For Fulton, however, the immediate focus will be addressing India’s struggles in high-pressure encounters.“We played at a high level in the tournament, but in the big games we have to do better,” the coach said, summing up a disappointing end to India’s World Cup campaign.