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They may have waited 28 years, but Ireland is back at the World Cup and determined to "challenge the odds".
It's only for the third time that the Green Machine, now ranked 10th in the world, qualifies for the finals. Previous editions were held in 1990 and 1978, finishing 12th on both occasions.
A 1-0 win over New Zealand – their first win over the Blacksticks – in October sealed their place in the centerpiece tournament, which will be held in Bhubaneswar, India from November 28 to December 16.
The team of Alexander Cox is in Pool B alongside the world's number one team, Australia, China (ranked 17th) and England (7th).
They will open their campaign tomorrow morning (11:30) against the Australians but the experienced defender Jonny Bell said that this Irish team was ready to take up the challenge.
"We have shown in the past that with our minimal resources, we can still beat the better-ranked teams than we do," said Lisnagarvey's player at RTÉ Sport.
"We did that to qualify for the Olympics for this World Cup.
"Our team is constantly looking to challenge odds, turn around trolleys and achieve impressive performances."
In terms of mbadive performance, Ireland has a hard act to follow.
Last August, the women's team overcame the obstacles, qualifying for the World Cup final and exposing the sport to new audiences.
Bell does not believe that the London race under Katie Mullan put additional pressure on the men's team.
Instead, the 153 players felt that the challenge is to display the same spirit that gave the country, including a boost in the summer.
"I do not think so [the women’s success] distort [the public’s expectation].
"It just brings extra attention to hockey, which is fantastic and has really raised the profile of hockey in Ireland.
"As a hockey community, we need to capitalize on that, so hopefully the men's team can now play and show what the girls have done in London and perform very well."
The environmental planner, Bell, admits that his team is "essentially amateurish" and competes with teams participating in "full-time programs".
With this in mind, the goal is simple: get out of the pool and see how things are going.
Avoiding the bottom of the league helps to reach the first goal, but that does not mean that the Australians, the defending champions, will not participate in a match.
"When you play against different opponents, you do a video badysis and you install tactically to defend and try to deny the strength of the opposition," he said.
"Defensively, we are a solid unit all over the field, we are trying to build on that counter-attack using our counter-attack, we have a very good flicker of the drag, a very good penalty corner piece that in my opinion, can compete with anyone in the game ". world.
"We have a very strong defense and a lot of speed against the attack."
Goaltender David Harte, who has 212 caps and currently plays in Kampong, Holland, is at the base of this defense.
"He's a world-clbad player," said Cox, a 30-year-old man from Cork.
"He was twice voted the best goalkeeper in the world.
"I think it's [still] the best goalkeeper in the world. His experience at the international level and club level is huge and the opposition has, say, afraid of him.
"It's really important for our team and the way we play, and first and foremost, we have to defend well.
"It's our main task also at the World Cup and when you have an excellent goalkeeper who helps."
Midfielder Daragh Walsh agrees with this verdict.
"As a goalkeeper, one of the most important things is to be a strong voice and an organizer in the field.
"And that's what he does, you just have to trust yourself, even if you make some mistakes, it's likely he'll sweep and make a backup and that's brilliant for us.
"As a captain, too, he is a fantastic leader."
Ireland arrived in India on Saturday after getting mixed results at a warm-up World Cup tournament in Valencia.
Two defeats against the Netherlands and one against Spain, beaten by a double face against England, the last of which was held in a shootout.
Their last group match is against England and Walsh knows that the qualification could depend on this result.
"It will certainly be a huge game, it's the last group match, so it could be a decision maker," he said.
"In facing any English team, you are probably more than the others."
"I played them [a few times] and it's still a tight match, it's a game we're looking forward to. "
Ireland hopes to beat China and get other results that will ensure that the clashes do not necessarily end in a decisive encounter on the final day.
"We need to avoid that spot in the pool where we would be automatically eliminated," Bell said.
"We have to aim for this quarterfinal, if we can qualify for the quarter-finals, who knows what can happen?"
fixtures
Ireland v Australia Friday, November 30 at 11:30, BT Sport 1.
Ireland v China, Tuesday 4 December at 13.30, BT Sport 1.
Ireland v England, Friday 7 December at 13.30, BT Sport 1.
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