Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the next round of the World League – and, ultimately, the 2014 World Cup – suffered a significant blow in Valencia yesterday when they lost 2-0 to Belarus, a team seven places below them in the rankings.

Coach Darren Smith had forecast Belarus would be “a tough team to break down”, and so it proved, although Ireland, top seeds for the tournament, hardly help their cause in an error-strewn game, their passes repeatedly going astray and penalty corners ineffective.

Belarus weren’t a great deal better, but took advantage of corners in the 50th and 66th minutes to secure the points that put them one ahead of Ireland in the table, both having played two games.

Spain opened their campaign yesterday with a 6-0 win over the Czech Republic, and it is the hosts Ireland play next after a three-day break, before their final match against Italy on Sunday. They must finish in the top two to advance to the next phase of the World League – the pressure, then, is on to take something from both games, wins possibly even required.