If you are playing in orange, India got a close up display on how to do so from a clinical Netherlands.

With six minutes to go, Manpreet Singh dawdled on the ball allowing Jorrit Croon to rob the ball and slip in Thijs van Dam. The forward flicked it over Mohith H.S., controlled it on the run, before slapping the ball into the net to finish off India in style.

In front of a packed Wagener Stadion, Netherlands sealed its place in the semifinal of the World Cup with a 3-1 win, pushing India to the brink of elimination in Amstelveen on Saturday (August 23, 2026). Placed last in the standings, India’s hopes now rests on the result between England and Argentina.

Needing a win, India put up a spirited fight, getting its tactics spot on to make the home side work hard, but familiar troubles in field play plagued Craig Fulton’s men.

But the Dutch, picked apart India with three field goals, two of them coming from devastating counter-attacks.

Of the four matches in the tournament, this was India’s best start. Fulton’s side was sharper on the ball, controlling possession, not allowing the Dutch to play their flick passing game.

However, India, too, didn’t find space in the circle, struggling to find the right connections in field play. Dilpreet Singh came close but his deflected effort was booted away by Derk Meijer.

After trading blows again in the third quarter, the Dutch found momentum, before taking the lead. From a loose ball in the circle, Tijmen Rayenga’s shot-cum-pass was flicked in past Suraj Karkera by Duco Telgenkamp.

Chasing the equaliser, Harmanpreet Singh and Sanjay, unable to bypass the Netherlands press, were exchanging passes at the halfway line before the latter tried to force the initiative with a fizzed-in pass but went out of bounds.

Seconds later, the Netherlands turned defence into attack with three passes. Tjep Hoedemakers deflected the ball into the goal from a fierce Koen Bijen slapshot into the circle.

India responded immediately through Harmanpreet, playing with a back injury, finding the left bottom corner with his side’s sixth and final PC to halve the deficit.

But India’s hopes of a comeback were extinguished when Manpreet’s error was punished by van Dam.

The result: Netherlands 3 (Telgenkamp 40, Hoedemakers 50, van Dam 54) bt India 1 (Harmanpreet 51-pc).

Published - August 23, 2026 12:08 am IST