2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup
| Tournament details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Host countries | Belgium Netherlands | ||
| Cities | Wavre Amstelveen | ||
| Dates | 14–30 August | ||
| Teams | 16 (from 5 confederations) | ||
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) | ||
| |||
The 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup will be the 16th edition of the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It will be held from 14 to 30 August 2026 in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands.[1]
Host selection
The International Hockey Federation announced on 15 June 2022 that they received the following five bids for the 2026 World Cup.[2][3]
- London and Northampton, England and Cardiff, Wales (joint bid)[4]
- Germany (bid withdrawn in October 2022 due to economic risk)[5]
- Potchefstroom, South Africa
The following two bids included holding combined men's and women's world cup simultaneously:
- Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands (joint bid)
- Potchefstroom, South Africa
Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands were awarded the hosting rights on 3 November 2022.[6]
Teams
Qualification
Just as in 2018 and 2023, 16 teams will compete in the tournament. Alongside hosts, Belgium and Netherlands, the top-ranked team in the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons in the FIH Pro League and the five continental champions receive an automatic berth. Then 16 teams from all over the five continents competed for the last seven places at the World Cup Qualifiers.[7] Out of them England, Pakistan and Japan being the top three teams at the qualifier held at Ismailia qualified for the World Cup tournament. On the other hand, Malaysia qualified on the basis of their world ranking.[8] At the qualifier held at Santiago, three teams namely, Ireland, France and Wales got first three positions locking their places in the Men's World Cup hockey tournament.[9]
| Dates | Event | Location | Quotas | Qualifier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 November 2022 | Hosts | N/a | 2 | Belgium Netherlands |
| 6 December 2023 – 30 June 2024 | 2023–24 FIH Pro League | N/a | 1 | Australia |
| 30 November 2024 – 29 June 2025 | 2024–25 FIH Pro League | N/a | 1 | Spain |
| 24 July – 3 August 2025 | 2025 Pan American Cup | Montevideo | 1 | Argentina |
| 8–16 August 2025 | 2025 EuroHockey Championship | Mönchengladbach | 1 | Germany |
| 29 August – 7 September 2025 | 2025 Asia Cup | Rajgir | 1 | India |
| 4–7 September 2025 | 2025 Oceania Cup | Darwin | 1 | New Zealand |
| 11–18 October 2025 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations | Ismailia | 1 | South Africa |
| 1–7 March 2026 | 2026 World Cup Qualifiers | Ismailia | 4 | England Japan Malaysia Pakistan |
| 1–8 March 2026 | Santiago | 3 | France Ireland Wales | |
| Total | 16 | |||
Venues
Following is a list of all venues and host cities across the Netherlands and Belgium.
| Netherlands | Belgium | |
|---|---|---|
| Wagener Stadium | Stade Justin Peeters | |
| Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 10,000 | |
Draw
The draw took place on 17 March 2026.[10][11]
First round
The hosts schedule was published on 30 September 2025.[12] The match schedule was revealed on 18 March 2026.[13]
All times are local (UTC+2).
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Second round |
| 2 | Argentina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 16 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
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Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Second round |
| 2 | Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | Malaysia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 15 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
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Pool C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Second round |
| 2 | Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 16 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Pool D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Second round |
| 2 | India | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 15 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Second round
Pool E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Semifinals |
| 2 | E2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | E3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5th–8th classification |
| 4 | E4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 22 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Pool F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Semifinals |
| 2 | F2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | F3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5th–8th classification |
| 4 | F4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Classification round
Pool G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | G2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | G3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | G4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 22 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Pool H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | H2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | H3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | H4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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15th place match
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13th place match
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Eleventh place match
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Ninth place match
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Seventh place match
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Fifth place match
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First to fourth place classification
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 28 August | ||||||
| E1 | ||||||
| 30 August | ||||||
| F2 | ||||||
| Winner SF1 | ||||||
| 28 August | ||||||
| Winner SF2 | ||||||
| F1 | ||||||
| E2 | ||||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 30 August | ||||||
| Loser SF1 | ||||||
| Loser SF2 | ||||||
Semifinals
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Third place match
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Final
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See also
References
- ^ "FIH Hockey World Cup 2026: Full Schedule, Pools & India vs Pakistan Clash Date Announced". Rajasthan18. 19 March 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Nations from four continents bidding for 2026 FIH Hockey World Cups!". fih.hockey. International Hockey Federation. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ Palmer, Dan (16 June 2022). "Countries from four continents bid for Hockey World Cups in 2026". insidethegames.biz. Inside the Games. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Tottenham Hotspur Stadium one of four venues in Men's 2026 World Cup bids". England Hockey. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "DHB zieht sein Interesse an der Bewerbung zur Ausrichtung der Feldhockey-WM 2026 zurück". DHB Hockey (in German). 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Iveson, Ali (3 November 2022). "Netherlands and Belgium to hold combined Hockey World Cups in 2026". inside the games. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Qualification System for 2026 FIH Hockey World Cups" (PDF). fih.ch. International Hockey Federation.
- ^ https://www.fih.hockey/fih-mens-hockey-world-cup-xxvi-qualifiers-ismailia-egypt/news/england-strike-gold-as-japan-and-malaysia-seal-world-cup-qualification
- ^ https://www.fih.hockey/events/world-cup-qualifiers-chile-2026/news/wales-men-and-ireland-women-secure-world-cup-qualification-ireland-men-and-chile-women-win-gold
- ^ "FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 Pools to be revealed on 17 March!". International Hockey Federation. 16 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ "Draw determines FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Pools!". International Hockey Federation. 17 March 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026: book your tickets now!". International Hockey Federation. 30 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "FIH announces match schedule for FIH Hockey World Cup 2026!". International Hockey Federation. 18 March 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
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