Hockey World Cup 2023: German coach's first goal is semis, then win the cup

Two-time champions Germany's first goal is to reach the semifinals of the upcoming FIH men's Hockey World Cup but their ultimate aim is to win their third world title, said head coach Andre Henning on Saturday.

Germany, who have won the title twice in the past in 2002 and 2006, finished fifth in the last edition of the tournament here in 2018.

But this time around, Hanning said they are eager to go much deeper into the tournament.

"We had a strong year as we won 13 FIH Pro League matches and were between 5th and 6th in the world rankings. So, we are looking forward to playing in the tournament and if we reach the semis that would be a big success.

"However, our ultimate aim is to win the World Cup trophy," he said after arriving here on Saturday.

The World Cup will be jointly hosted by Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29.

Germany are in Pool B along side Japan, Belgium and Korea. The Germans will open their campaign against Japan on January 14 at the Kalinga Stadium here.

"Our players did a lot of things while preparing for the tournament and are confident in their abilities. We worked on our defence and got better as a group. The players have gotten better tactically as well," Hanning said.

Germany captain Mats Grambusch said having won 13 out of their last 18 matches, they are prepared for the mega-event.

"After the Olympics, we got a new coach and it was a long preparation of more than eight months. We won 13 out of 18 matches in the last year and will look to replicate the same performance in the World Cup," said Grambusch.