100 days to go until Hockey Men's World Cup in India

Today marks 100 days to go until the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup begins in India.

England play on day one of the event, taking on Wales in the brand new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Friday 13 January; 11:30am UK time.

On Sunday 15 January we take on hosts India in what is bound to be an incredible game in the new 20,000-capacity Rourkela stadium, with push back at 1:30pm UK time.

Then for our final game we take on Spain in Bhubaneswar, the action getting underway at 11:30am UK time.

The full match schedule is available here. Live coverage in the UK will be on BT Sport.

England in 2022
England's men come into the event on the back of a very positive campaign in 2022; most recently winning Commonwealth Games bronze in Birmingham this summer.

In front of packed crowds on home soil, Paul Revington's side defeated South Africa 6-3 in the third / fourth place game, bouncing back from a controversial defeat to Australia in the semi finals to claim a deserved medal.

Having scored 33 goals at an average of more than 5 per game, the men's team produced an exciting brand of hockey and will look to build on that on the biggest stage at the World Cup.

In April in the FIH Hockey Pro League, England performed well away to India and will take confidence from their displays, as well as a shootout win over World and Olympic Champions Belgium, plus other positive displays across the year.

In the lead-up to the World Cup, a number of England players will play for Great Britain in Pro League games in December, taking on hosts Argentina and Netherlands in a mini-tournament.

Last World Cup in 2018
England finished fourth in the last Hockey Men's World Cup, hosted in India in summer 2018.

The result meant a third consecutive fourth place for the men, with their best-ever finish coming in 1986 when they finished second on home soil in London.

The highlight of England's 2018 bid was a superb 3-2 win over then-Olympic Champions Argentina in the quarter final stage; preceded by an important 2-0 victory against New Zealand.

FIH verdict
FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “It really is exciting that the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela is only 100 days away. We’re looking forward to outstanding matches in the Kalinga Stadium of Bhubaneswar and the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela, which will be a fantastic legacy for hockey, not only for India but for the world. 

"On behalf of FIH, I’d like to renew our thanks to Hockey India for putting together what will for sure be a memorable event, our best wishes to all teams and our invitation to fans to come to the stadium in numbers or watch the matches on TV or on Watch.Hockey. Don’t miss the show!”

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey said: "Hosting the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela is a huge honor for us and we cannot wait to welcome the world's top hockey players to India. All the preparations for the tournament are on track and we are very excited to organise the biggest hockey tournament. I would like to invite all the hockey fans to Bhubaneswar and Rourkela to witness the high-octane action between the world's best sides."

Sports Minister, Odisha, Tusharkanti Behera, shared: "With just 100 days to go, Hockey craze is at an all time high in the state. The excitement is building up, especially in Rourkela where a Hockey World Cup will be hosted for the first time. At both Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, preparations, in all aspects, are going on in full swing. Odisha eagerly awaits to welcome the teams and along with FIH & Hockey India is confident of putting up a spectacular World Cup."