BHUBANESWAR: The French men's hockey team, which arrived in Bhubaneswar to compete in the tournament, was a pleasant surprise in the previous iteration of the competition in 2018. They'll try to perform even better in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela.

After losing to Australia in the quarterfinals, France placed eighth overall in the 2018 Men's World Cup.

France, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa are all in Pool A for the forthcoming 2023 edition in Odisha. On January 13 in Bhubaneswar, France's opening match will be against Australia.

The men's hockey team will be under pressure to perform well in the World Cup to justify their straight entry into the Olympics because France will be the host nation of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

With regard to their prospects at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup in 2023, Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, head coach Frederic Soyez is upbeat.

"Right now, we are not looking for the title. Right now, our squad is concentrated on winning the tournament's opening game. After that, we'll see how things turn out. We prepared for this competition with the goal of doing better than last year, and I believe we possess the skills necessary to compete successfully against the best teams "remarked Soyez.

Timothee Clement, who also won Player of the Tournament honours at the 2021 Men's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup, is one of the talents on France's roster. But rather than concentrating on a select group of players, the head coach declared that they planned to play as a team.

FIH World Cup 2023: Odisha CM Patnaik announces Rs1 cr for each player

FIH Men's World Cup 2023 Chile Team Arrives In Bhubaneswar

Women's hockey team returns to national camp in Bangalore prior to new season