Hockey WC: EXPLAINED! What is the tie-breaker rule that will come into play in group stage

The year 2022 has seen quite a few marquee tournaments taking place, such as the T20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The new year is set to start in a few days and it will begin with a bang for all sports lovers. The forthcoming Hockey WC will take place from January 13-29 in the cities of Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela in Odisha as all the top teams will fight it out for the coveted title. Belgium is the defending champions, having beaten the Netherlands in the 2018 finale by 3-2 in the penalty shootout (after the match ended in a 0-0 stalemate).

Ahead of the showpiece event's commencement, here are the four groups comprising four sides each. The groups are as follows.

Pool A:- Australia, South Africa, France, Argentina
Pool B:- Belgium, Japan, Korea, Germany
Pool C:- Netherlands, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand
Pool D:- India, Wales, Spain, England

Thus, Harmanpreet Singh-led India is in a tricky group D, also comprising England, Spain and Wales. It is to be noted that the top four teams from each group will progress to the next stage andoccupy the first four places in the quarter-final. However, the next four sideswho will feature in the last eight will be determined by crossover matches between the second and third-placed teams from every group.

A win in the pool stage will give every side two points whereas they will settle for a point in case of a draw. If two sides find themselves tied on multiple counts, then the scenario is very interesting. In this case, a tie-breaker rule will come into play to reveal the team ranking on the group stage.

For instance, if two teams are tied on equal points, then the team with more victories in the group stage will achieve the higher rank. In case if that doesn't help, thenthe goal difference -- i.e. the difference between the number of goals scored and the number of goals conceded -- will be taken into consideration. If that also doesn't lead to a result,then the team with the most number of goals scored will gain a higher rank. If that too doesn't separate the two sides tied, then the head-to-head result between them will achieve the higher rank.

In the last edition, in 2018, India ended their run in the quarter-finals. After Tokyo 2020 success, where they finished with a bronze medal, the Men in Blue will be confident to go the distance and end with the coveted title.