Wales men have been placed with hosts India and home nation rivals England in Pool D as the draw for the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup took place in Odisha, India this morning.
Taking the fourth spot in the Pool, Wales will also face fellow European nation Spain.
Speaking after the draw, Welsh captain Rupert Shipperley said, “It’s great to get to play India, the host nation, so that will be really exciting.”
“Obviously England, we’ve had lots of close games with them in the past. It will be another great challenge for us, and then we get to take on the Spanish as well.”
“It’s a great group for us. We’re really excited and we can’t wait to be part of the 2023 World Cup.”
Wales men make their World Cup debut in India after qualifying for the first time on home-turf at the October 2021 World Cup Qualifiers in Cardiff.
The World Cup will take place in the Indian cities of Bhuvneshwar and Rourkela from the 13-29th of January 2023.
16 teams in total have qualified. The four pools are listed below.
Pool A- Australia, South Africa, France, Argentina
Pool B- Belgium, Japan, South Korea, Germany
Pool C- Netherlands, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand
Pool D- India, Wales, Spain, England