BHUBANESWAR: Former world Champions, Pakistan will start its Hockey World Cup campaign against European giants, Germany, on Saturday in Bhubaneswar, India.
The four-time champions are hoping to start their tournament with a win against Germany after rather chaotic preparation for the world cup.
The green shirts have not reached the semi-final of the tournament since 1994. Germany will start the match as a favourite against the subcontinent team.
Both teams have faced each other in the World Cup eight times with Pakistan winning five of the games and Germany came out on top three times. In 1982, both teams faced each other twice in a pool and final match.
In 1973, Germans beat Pakistan by 1-0 in the third-place match, while Pakistan won the semi-final match in 1975 by 5-1. In 1978, Pakistan won the second semi-final against Germans by 1-0.
In 1982 WC, Pakistan won the pool match by 5-3 and repeated the score in the final and lifted the trophy 3-1.
The last time both teams met was the 2002 World Cup when Germany beat Pakistan 3-2.
