India will play Spain in the opening game of the 2023 Men’s World Cup of Hockey.

According to the schedule provided by the International Federation of Hockey (FIH) on Tuesday, the Indian hockey team will begin its 2023 Hockey World Cup campaign against Spain at the recently constructed Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on January 13. India, who took home the bronze medal from Tokyo 2020, will take on No. 6 in the world-ranked England on January 15 at the same venue. At the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the second venue for the 2023 men’s Hockey World Cup, on January 19, the Indian men’s hockey team will play its final Pool D match against Wales, the 16th-ranked team in the world.

Beginning on January 13 and running through January 29, the 2023 Hockey World Cup will feature four pools of four teams competing for the championship trophy. Along with Spain, England, and Wales, India is included in pool D.

The top-ranked team among the four teams in Pool D is India, which is led by Graham Reid and is currently rated fifth in the hockey rankings. Eighth-ranked Spain has recently performed well under former Netherlands coach Max Caldas.

Olympic gold medalists from 2016 The 2023 FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup will kick off with Argentina against South Africa, the top-ranked country in Africa. On January 13, these two hockey powerhouses will square off at Kalinga Stadium, the venue for the most recent Men’s World Cup championship game.

The world’s top team, Australia, will play France in a rematch of the World Cup quarterfinal in the second game of the day in Bhubaneswar.

The first-ever FIH World Cup matches would be held in the brand-new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela later that day, beginning with a “derby” between England and Wales.

There will be 44 total games, with the championship match taking place in Bhubaneswar on January 29 at 7 p.m. local time.

The four Pools were chosen by the draw, which was held on September 8 in Bhubaneswar, as follows:

Australia, Argentina, France, South Africa, and Pool A

Pool B: Korea, Belgium, Germany, Japan

Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Chile make up Pool C.

Group D: Wales, England, Spain, and India

Wales and Chile have both successfully qualified for the Men’s World Cup.

After defeating the Netherlands in the 2018 final, Belgium is the current global champion.

The 1975 World Cup was India’s best World Cup, as they won their lone title by defeating Pakistan 2-1 in the final in Kuala Lumpur.

The FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup will be held in India for the fourth time in 2023.