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NEW DELHI: The FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 will start on August 15, with Belgium and the Netherlands hosting the men’s and women’s tournaments. The event will continue until August 30. The 2026 World Cup will have a different format from previous editions. There will be 16 teams in both the men’s and women’s tournaments, but teams will not go straight from the opening pool stage to quarterfinals. The men’s and women’s tournaments will be played in Belgium and the Netherlands from August 15 to 30. The two main venues are: Venue Location Country Wagener Stadium Amstelveen Netherlands Belfius Hockey Arena Wavre Belgium The women’s final will be held in the Netherlands on August 29, while the men’s final will take place in Belgium on August 30. The 16 teams in each tournament will be divided into four opening pools of four teams each. The key change is simple: there will be no quarterfinals at the 2026 World Cup. Player Current caps 4 Jarmanpreet Singh 158 5 Abhishek 135 7 Manpreet Singh 417 8 Hardik Singh 181 9 Dilpreet Singh 122 11 Mandeep Singh 288 13 Harmanpreet Singh (C) 264 17 Sumit 179 18 Nilakanta Sharma 157 19 Aditya Arjun Lalage 13 27 Mohith Shashikumar Honnenahalli (GK) 15 30 Amit Rohidas 244 31 Jugraj Singh 105 32 Vivek Sagar Prasad 194 34 Sukhjeet Singh 124 47 Yashdeep Siwach 34 70 Sanjay 90 77 Suraj Karkera (GK) 89 78 Rajinder Singh 44 99 Shilanand Lakra 68 INDIA WOMEN’S SQUAD Shirt No. Player Current caps 6 Ishika Chaudhary 82 8 Nikki Pradhan 207 9 Bichu Devi Kharibam (GK) 65 11 Savita (GK) 313 12 Shilpi Dabas 5 20 Lalremsiami 187 21 Deepika Soreng 11 22 Baljeet Kaur 43 23 Ishika 9 24 Jyoti 103 25 Navneet Kaur 211 27 Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam 262 29 Sunelita Toppo 52 30 Salima Tete (C) 155 32 Neha 202 35 Rutuja Dadaso Pisar 30 37 Lalthantluangi 5 39 Sakshi Rana 17 52 Beauty Dung Dung 43 55 Deepika 69 Get the latest Sports News and Live updates.
Because teams may carry a head-to-head result into the crossover stage, a strong start in the opening pool can be important. Instead, a second pool stage will decide the semifinalists. Here is everything you need to know about the tournament format, pools, venues, live streaming and India’s squads. Every team will play three matches in this first stage. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines The top two teams from each pool will move into the title race. The teams finishing third and fourth will enter separate classification groups. The top two teams from each of the two main crossover pools will qualify for the semifinals. Pool A- Argentina, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand Pool B- Belgium, France, Germany, Malaysia Pool C- Australia, Spain, Ireland, South Africa Pool D- England, India, Pakistan, Wales Pool A- Australia, Chile, Japan, Netherlands Pool B- Argentina, Germany, Scotland, United States Pool C- Belgium, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand Pool D- China, England, India, South Africa The new system means teams will need to perform consistently across two group stages. At the same time, qualifying from the first pool is not enough. Teams must also finish among the top two in their crossover pool to reach the semifinals. Men’s – Germany Women’s – The Netherlands Indian viewers can watch the Hockey World Cup on Star Sports, while live streaming will be available on JioHotstar. INDIA MEN’S SQUAD Shirt No. Download the TOI app.
From there, teams will play another three matches before the semifinalists are decided.