Cox Reveals World Cup Team With Turkish Airlines As Sponsor

  • Oct 23,2018


Green Machine head coach, Alexander Cox, has today announced his World Cup squad of 20 players that will travel to Bhubaneswar in India for the showpiece event. The team will be the first Irish men’s hockey team to compete at a World Cup since 1990.


Speaking at the announcement, Cox said “I am proud to announce our World Cup squad. The camps we had in Ireland and overseas were very good and allowed me to see the potential of all the players in our training panel. The 20 players selected give me the most options in defense, midfield and attack. We are very much looking forward to the upcoming tournament in Valencia which will be our first test as a team as we look towards the World Cup”


Today also marked the unveiling of Turkish Airlines as the new primary sponsor of the senior men’s team, speaking about the announcement Hockey Ireland CEO Jerome Pels said “We are pleased to reveal Turkish Airlines as the new primary sponsor of the Green Machine. Hockey is a global sport and we’re delighted to partner with such an international brand like Turkish Airlines. They have a long history of sponsorship in sport and we’re very excited about this partnership”


Hasan Mutlu, Turkish Airlines General Manager for Ireland, commented “We are delighted to be announcing Turkish Airlines as the sponsorship partner for Ireland’s men’s hockey team.
This is a momentous day for both organisations as we cement our relationship we can clearly see the immense potential for this team on the international stage. We are delighted to support them in their every success as the men’s hockey World Cup in India comes closer into view”.



Ireland, currently ranked 10th in the world, sit in Pool B with world number 1 Australia, number 7 England and number 17 China. The world number 1 always prove a potent threat and they picked up the Champions Trophy title during the summer as well a victory the last time Ireland faced them, but both sides have changed since then with former coach Fulton opting for a young squad at that Azlan Shah Cup while the Kookaburra’s will be without the experience of Mark Knowles, following his retirement from international hockey.

England are a more familiar opponent but could also offer some surprises with Danny Kerry taking the helm following the conclusion of the Women’s World Cup in London. The two teams will come face to face prior to the Odisha World Cup getting underway as they meet in Valencia for a 4 Nations Tournament with Spain and the Netherlands in the coming days.

The Green Machine and China only seem to cross paths at major tournaments every few years, and the last time was at World League in Belgium 2015 on route to the Olympics. No fewer than 11 of the current squad were involved in that 6-0 victory over China and 10 of the squad played a part in the 2013 4-0 victory so the men in green have a plethora of experience to call upon.

The winners of each pool progress straight through to the quarterfinal and the bottom placed team goes home. The second placed team in Pool B will play off against the third placed team in Pool A, and the third placed team in Pool B will play against the second placed team in Pool A.


World Cup Squad: 

Name

Club

Position

David Harte
Kampong
GK
David Fitzgerald
Monkstown
GK
Jonathan Bell
Lisnagarvey
Defender
Paul Gleghorne
HTC Crefeld
Defender
Luke Madeley
Three Rock Rovers
Defender
Conor Harte
Racing Club
Defender
Stuart Loughrey
Reading
Defender
Matthew Bell
HTC Crefeld
Defender
Lee Cole
Oree
Defender
Shane O’Donoghue
KHC Dragons
Midfield
Michael Robson
HTC Crefeld
Midfield
Kirk Shimmins
KHC Dragons
Midfield
Sean Murray
HC Rotterdam
Midfield
Chris Cargo
H&W
Midfield
Daragh Walsh
Three Rock Rovers
Midfield
Matthew Nelson
Lisnagarvey
Forward
Mitch Darling
Three Rock Rovers
Forward
Eugene Magee
Banbridge
Forward
Alan Sothern
Gantoise Gent
Forward
Jeremy Duncan
Heracles
Forward

NB. The final selection regarding the 18 playing squad members and 2 reserves will be made closer to the tournament.



Fixtures (all times listed are local)

Ireland’s Odisha World Cup Fixtures:

30/11/18 17:00 Ireland vs Australia

4/12/18 19:00 Ireland vs China

7/12/18 19:00 Ireland vs England

10/12/18 Crossover Match

12/12/18 Quarter Final

15/12/18 Semi Final

16/12/18 Bronze Medal Match

16/12/18 Final

Full Odisha World Cup schedule: http://fih.ch/events/world-cup/world-cup-2018/hockey-world-cup-bhubaneswar-2018-m//pools-matches


Pre-World Cup Fixtures

4 Nations Tournament Valencia:

29/10 16:30 Ireland vs England

29/10 18:30 Spain vs Netherlands

30/10 16:30 Netherlands vs England

30/10 18:30 Spain - Ireland

01/11 16:30 Ireland - Netherlands

01/11 18:30 Spain - England

03/11 10:00 1st vs 4th

03/11 12:30 2nd vs 3rd

04/11 10:00 3rd vs 4th

04/11 12:30 Final


10/11/18 14:00 Ireland vs Belgium in Royal Evere White Star HC


19/11/18 19:00 Ireland vs Netherlands at Hockey Club Hurley in Amsterdam