Hockey World League Final - India vs Belgium (Semi-final)

Final five mins!

Final five minutes to go. Belgium still leading 1-0, India desperately searching for an equaliser.

Yellow Card

53': Yellow card for Tanguy Cosyns for a nasty push. Belgium down to 10 men now. India need to exploit this.

Time running out for India

10 minutes remaining and we haven't had one penalty corner so far. Belgium lead 1-0.

12': Cedric with the ball inside the Indian D but Sreejesh blocks, Rupinder Pal Singh grabs it and pushes it out.

Final quarter gets underway. Will India find an equaliser or will Belgium continue their good run and book the final spot?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HWL2015?src=hash">#HWL2015</a> frustration mounting ??. We need a goal!! &mdash; Utkarsh Arya (@liveislife_arya) <a href="https://twitter.com/liveislife_arya/status/673142015807238144">December 5, 2015</a></blockquote>

Yellow Card!

41': Yellow card for Talwinder Singh

A lost opportunity!

IND 0-1 BEL Great chance for Akashdeep to equalise #HWL2015 #Raipur https://t.co/Ktir3Lc4qi &mdash; FIH (@FIH_Hockey) December 5, 2015

He's not the only culprit though

Livid with Sreejesh letting that one through #HWL2015 &mdash; Karthik M (@SarKarTheRuler) December 5, 2015

The Great Wall of Belgium

The Belgian defence has been rock solid today. They have denied the Indian forwards entry inside their circle. In a stark contrast, the Indians have been leaving gaps which have been exploited well by their opponent. India need to alter their strategy (provided they are following one!) if they are to find their way back in this game. Belgium have been the superior team today.

Well...

Does accelerated heartbeat constitute any kind of exercise? Because I'd burn lots of calories while watching India play hockey #HWL2015 &mdash; Ganeev D (@GaneevD) December 5, 2015

The Indians really need to lift their game going into the final two quarters

You guys can do it. Chak de India #HWL2015 #INDvsBEL #IndiaKaGame &mdash; Jairaj Padmanabhan (@Jairajonasong) December 5, 2015

An example of how welcoming the Indian defence has been to the Belgians today

IND 0-1 BEL Cosyns runs unchallenged, but fires over on the reverse #HWL2015 #Raipur https://t.co/605Y3Iccgq &mdash; FIH (@FIH_Hockey) December 5, 2015

Danger averted

With just over two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Felix Denayer made a dangerous move inside the Indian half but was quickly dispossessed.

Aerial route is where the Indians are stronger

We can catch #belgium on counter but taking too long on the ball is playing in their hands. Try the aerial route, get Sunil on RW. #HWL2015 &mdash; Akshay Hooda (@Akkerz) December 5, 2015

Second Quarter of the Second Semi-final gets underway

Come on lads!

Sreejesh, thats more like it. GREAT 1v1 save. COME ON LADS!! #indvsbel #HWL2015

&mdash; Akshay Hooda (@Akkerz) December 5, 2015

We are approaching the end of the first quarter. The home team is currently lagging behind 0-1.

India 0-1 Belgium

IND 0-1 BEL Charlier gives Belgium an early lead through the keeper's legs #HWL2015 #Raipur https://t.co/xEibaXeXyC &mdash; FIH (@FIH_Hockey) December 5, 2015

Come on India!

Go for it India! #HWL2015 #INDvsBEL

&mdash; MitrajitBhattacharya (@MitrajitB) December 5, 2015

And we are underway!

Last Five Matches

In their last five meetings though, Belgium have prevailed thrice while India on two occasions.

Previous Encounter

The last time these two teams faced each other, at the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Antwerp, India received a 0-4 thrashing with Florent van Aubel scoring a hat-trick.

9-0

The biggest margin of win between these two teams came way back at the 1928 Olympics (Amsterdam) when India recorded a 9-0 win in a Pool A match.

HEAD TO HEAD

17 matches: India - 10, Belgium - 5, Draw - 2

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the second semi-final encounter of the Hockey World League Finals where India take on Belgium in Raipur's Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel International hockey Stadium.