In its ninth appearance at an FIH World Cup, India have produced a commendable show, losing just once in five matches. A win against Germany would give the team its best-ever finish at the World Cup since the historic fourth-place finish at the inaugural edition in 1974.

India have displayed tremendous resilience throughout the tournament, holding higher-ranked teams such as Paris Olympics silver medallists China, England and Australia to draws. They also recorded their most prolific World Cup victory with a commanding 6-1 win over South Africa.Their only defeat came against defending champions the Netherlands, who were forced to work hard for their 2-0 victory. India finished third in the second stage, narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals after a series of hard-fought draws.

Germany have also enjoyed a competitive campaign. They defeated Scotland and the USA in the opening pool stage before overcoming Spain in the second stage. However, a defeat against Belgium left them third in their pool and sent them into the fifth-sixth place classification match. India head coach Sjoerd Marijne acknowledged the progress made by his team but said the players are still hungry for more. "We defeated South Africa with big numbers and did really well against the Netherlands," said Marijne.