The 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup was 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 was held from 15 to 30 August 2026 in Wavre, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Belgium and Netherlands were given the hosting rights in November 2022, beating a joint bid from England and Wales as well as a South African bid. It was the first time the men's event was co-hosted. This also marked Belgium's first and Netherlands' fourth time hosting. It was also the first time the men's and women's world cup were held as one joint tournament.
16 teams participated, for the third time after the expansion in 2018. Qualification was an amalgamation of the FIH Pro League, continental championships and the World Cup Qualifiers. Qualification took place from December 2023 to March 2026.
Germany were the defending champions, having defeated Belgium 5–4 in a shootout after the match finished 3–3 in regular time in Bhubaneswar. They defended their title after defeating Spain in the final by 1–0 and lifted their fourth title.
Host selection
The International Hockey Federation announced on 15 June 2022 that they had received the following five bids for the 2026 World Cup:
For only men's event
(in partnership with ) (withdrew)
For combined men's and women's event and
Wavre, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands were awarded the hosting rights on 3 November 2022.
Teams Qualification Just as in 2018 and 2023, 16 teams competed in the tournament. Alongside hosts, Belgium and Netherlands, the top-ranked teams in the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons in the FIH Pro League and the five continental champions received an automatic berth. Then 16 teams from all over the five continents competed for the last seven places at the World Cup Qualifiers.https://www.fih.hockey/fih-mens-hockey-world-cup-xxvi-qualifiers-ismailia-egypt/news/england-strike-gold-as-japan-and-malaysia-seal-world-cup-qualificationhttps://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 Of the team who qualified, 14 had taken part in the previous edition.
Returners Ireland and Pakistan qualified after missing out in 2023.
Absentees Chile and South Korea did not advance, after making a sporadic appearance in 2023.
The highest ranked team not to qualify was Scotland, ranked 17th, while the lowest ranked team to qualify was Japan, ranked 16th.
+List of qualifiersDatesEventLocationQuotasQualifier(s)3 November 2022Hosts26 December 2023 – 30 June 20242023–24 FIH Pro League130 November 2024 – 29 June 20252024–25 FIH Pro League124 July – 3 August 20252025 Pan American Cup Montevideo18–16 August 2025 Championship129 August – 7 September 20252025 Asia Cup Rajgir14–7 September 20252025 Oceania Cup Darwin111–18 October 20252025 Africa Cup of Nations Ismailia11–7 March 20262026 World Cup Qualifiers Ismailia41–8 March 2026 Santiago3Total16
Summary of qualified teams TeamQualification methodDate of qualificationAppearance(s)Previous best performanceWR Co-hosts3 November 2022197320234 (2018)1 197116 (1973, 1990, 1998)2 2023–24 FIH Pro League23 June 202414 (1986, 2010, 2014)4 2024–25 FIH Pro League29 June 202516 (1971, 1998)6 2025 Pan American Cup3 August 20257 (2014)7 2025 EuroHockey Championship14 August 202516 (2002, 2006, 2023)5 2025 Asia Cup7 September 202516 (1975)8 2025 Oceania Cup8 (1973, 1975, 1982, 2014, 2023)11 2025 Africa Cup of Nations18 October 202519947 (1994, 2010)13 2026 World Cup Qualifiers6 March 2026197315 (1986)3 197120181 (1971, 1978, 1982, 1994)12 197120233 (1971, 1990)9 197820181 (1978, 1990)10 7 March 2026197120232 (1971, 2006)16 19734 (1975)14 8 March 202620232 (2023)15
Venues The Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre was renovated during the preparations for the tournament. The venue was completed in early 2026 and has a 4,000 capacity that was expanded to 10,000 for the tournament.https://www.fih.hockey/events/fih-hockey-worldcup-belgium-netherlands-2026/news/fih-hockey-world-cup-belgium-netherlands-one-month-to-go The Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen is 8,000 but was also expanded to 10,000 for the event.https://hockeyworldcup2026.nl/en/news/news222-item-3
Amstelveen WavreWagener StadiumBelfius Hockey ArenaCapacity: 10,000Capacity: 10,000
Draw
The final draw took place at 15:00 CET on 17 March 2026 at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands. Model and presenter, Joyce Colfs, hosted the draw. Field Hockey players, Naomi van As, Barbara Nelen and Teun de Nooijer, alongside Dutch rapper , were the guests who assisted the draw. The draw started with the co-hosts being placed into their respective groups held in their country, as well as the two remaining pot 1 teams, Australia and England, being pre-drawn into groups C and D respectively. The draw continued with, in order, pots 4, 3 and 2 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. There were no restrictions.
Seeding + Allocation to potsPot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4 (H) (H)
Draw + Group A in the Netherlands TeamA1 (H)A2 A3 A4 + Group B in Belgium TeamB1 (H)B2 B3 B4 + Group C in Belgium TeamC1 C2 C3 C4 + Group D in the Netherlands TeamD1 D2 D3 D4
Schedule ScheduleRoundGamedayDatePreliminary roundGameday 1 15–16 August 2026Gameday 2 17–18 August 2026Gameday 3 19–20 August 2026Second roundClassification roundGameday 4 21–22 August 2026Gameday 5 23–24 August 2026Knockout stageSemi-finalsPlacement games28 August 2026Final30 August 2026
Umpires On 20 January 2026, 16 umpires were appointed by the FIH for this tournament.
Gabriel Labate (ARG) Zeke Newman (AUS) Steve Rogers (AUS) Tyler Klenk (CAN) Dan Barstow (ENG) Sean Edwards (ENG) Ben Göntgen (GER) Rawi Anbananthan (MAS) Coen van Bunge (NED) Jonas van't Hek (NED) Michiel Otten (NED) Gareth Greenfield (NZL) Lim Hong-Zhen (SGP) Darren Hubach (RSA) Sean Rapaport (RSA) You Hyo-sik (KOR)
Squads
First round The hosts schedule was published on 30 September 2025. The match schedule was revealed on 18 March 2026.
All times are local (UTC+2).
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Second round Pool E
Pool F
Classification round Pool G
Pool H
15th place match
13th place match
Eleventh place match
Ninth place match
Seventh place match
Fifth place match
First to fourth place classification Bracket
Semifinals
Third place match
Final
Final ranking
Goalscorers
Awards 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup GermanyFourth title
Team squad: Linus Müller, Justus Warweg, Benedikt Schwarzhaupt, Johannes Große, Thies Prinz, Paul-Philipp Kaufmann, Teo Hinrichs, Tom Grambusch (Captain), Christopher Rühr, Justus Weigand, Michel Struthoff, Hugo von Montgelas, Erik Kleinlein, Hannes Müller, Malte Hellwig, Jakob Brilla, Antheus Barry, Joshua Onyekwue-Nnaji, Moritz Ludwig, Jean Danneberg.Head Coach: André Henning
The awards were announced on 30 August 2026.
Award Player Player of the tournament Tomás Domene Goalkeeper of the tournament Luis Calzado Young player of the tournament Justus Warweg
Broadcasting rights The television channels broadcasting the event is as follows:https://www.fih.hockey/events/fih-hockey-worldcup-belgium-netherlands-2026/where-to-watch
Qualified teams TerritoryRights holder
Non-qualified teams TerritoryRights holderAmericasMiddle EastSouth AsiaRest of World
Notes
See also 2026 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 FIH Para Hockey World Cup
References
External links
Official website