Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: 5 favourites to win the title

#2 Belgium

The Red Lions have it in them to challenge Australia

It all began 11 years back, during a EuroHockey Nations Cup encounter in Manchester. Up for grabs was a ticket to Beijing 2008 and the Germans who were at their peak having won two successive World Cups in 2002 and 2006 were facing a relatively amateurish Belgian outfit.

With the scoreline level at 3-3, Jerome Truyens scored for the Red Lions in the very last second of the match and the entire Belgium team and their supporters in the crowd exulted en masse. The Belgians had qualified for the Olympics after a gap of 32 years and thus started a spectacular and dizzying march upwards.

Under the tutelage of Shane McLeod, the Red Lions won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics and are currently the third best team in the world.

Phenomenally talented and experienced individuals like John-John Dohmen, Arthur van Doren, Gauthier Boccard, Florent van Aubel, Loick Luypaert, Cedric Charlier, and Tom Boon along with Vicent Vanasch in goal have combined to form an incredible unit, and few would be surprised if Thomas Briels leads his side to their first-ever World Cup title.