No video analysis of rivals poses big challenge in quest for hockey WC title: German coach

Bhubaneswar, Nov 19 (IANS) Six-time champions and one of the favourites for the Junior Hockey World Cup, Germany feel that not having done enough video analysis of their opponents coming into the tournament could hurt their chances here.

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen hockey-playing nations hardly getting any opportunity to compete in the last two years, leaving them with little video footage to analyse and learn about their rivals.

Germany head coach Valentin Altenburg said in a virtual interaction on Friday that, "Germany have not played too many matches with their rivals and it could be a problem for the team. We are not able to analyse the opponents as well as our players. "Before tournaments like the World Cup, it would have been good for the teams' preparations, if we had videos of the rivals' match practice. I think other nations too are facing similar problems. I think it will be very difficult for us to make a specific plan for any team," Altenburg said.

Captain Benedikt Schwarzhaupt said that the team is not looking at a semifinal berth or the trophy at this moment. "The expectations are very high from us, but we are not looking beyond group matches. We have not played against any nation outside Europe. We played against Spain and Belgium and some other nations; we know those teams. But we don't have the experience of playing against Pakistan or Argentina. That is why we are looking at the group stage and not beyond," said Benedict.

Germany are placed along with Argentina, Pakistan and Egypt in Pool D. The coach said that the absence of cross-over matches had made qualification a tricky process. "As the format of the tournament suggests, we don't have cross-over matches and that will put pressure on the teams to win the group matches. We are in a tough group and will try to avoid any embarrassment," he said.