# India need composure against Pakistan after England loss, says Fulton

2026-08-17T18:21:45+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets (3 source reports)

India head coach Craig Fulton has called for better composure and defensive discipline after a 2-4 defeat to England in the Hockey World Cup Pool D match on Monday. India led 2-1 at halftime through goals from Harmanpreet Singh and Dilpreet Singh, but England scored three times after the break. Fulton admitted India's defensive intensity dropped in the third quarter. "The first half was good. In the third quarter our defence was not as good as it was supposed to be," he said. England, ranked third in the world, exposed India's weaknesses, The Hindu reported. India now need at least a draw against Pakistan on Wednesday to progress to the second round. A defeat would end their campaign. Fulton said the team must be better on the ball and show composure. Midfielder Manpreet Singh also pointed to defensive lapses and stressed the need to convert chances. "Pakistan also have good penalty corner specialists, so we must not concede PCs against them," he said, as reported by the Times of India. England top Pool D with two wins, while India have three points from two matches. Pakistan have one point.

## Coverage

- timesofindia.indiatimes.com <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/hockey/top-stories/hockey-world-cup-show-a-bit-of-composure-fultons-message-to-india-ahead-of-must-not-lose-pakistan-clash/articleshow/133302422.cms>
- thehindu.com <https://www.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/our-defence-didnt-do-well-admits-fulton/article71357862.ece>
- thehindu.com (2) <https://www.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/hockey-world-cup-england-exposes-indias-shortcomings/article71357749.ece>

This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-17T20:01:17+00:00.

Tags: Craig Fulton, Harmanpreet Singh, Hockey World Cup, India hockey team, Manpreet Singh, Pakistan hockey team
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