Belgians will battle Ireland

IRELAND and Belgium’s meeting today in Pool A of the World Cup hockey qualifier in Changzhou will be unlike any of the six games the sides have played against each other in the last two years.

For a start, this is a competitive fixture, and, with so much at stake, the Irish are particularly mindful of the fact their opponents have recorded two excellent results - a 5-2 win against Egypt and a 2-2 draw with Pakistan.

Assistant Belgian coach Pascal Kina, said last night they would prefer not to be meeting the Irish in the wake of their win 2-1 win over Canada on Thursday.

“They are much more positive after that result and they now have belief,” Kina said.

Irish coach Dave Passmore is equally respectful of Belgium, saying it would be easy to be lulled into a false sense of security by Belgian friendly performances.

“They never really show that much in game like that, but they are a serious tournament team,” he added.

“I think the Pakistanis underestimated them. We won’t.”