Upcoming competitions
Frequently asked questions
Where will the finals be played?
The final of the women's tournament will be played in the Netherlands. The men's final will take place in Belgium. This is regardless of the results of the Dutch or Belgian teams.
Do Dutch teams play all their matches in the Netherlands?
The Dutch women's team plays all matches in the Netherlands. This applies to all group matches and any (semi-)finals.
The Dutch men's team plays all group matches in the Netherlands. If they reach the semi-finals, they will also play these in the Netherlands, unless Belgium is their opponent. In this case, the Netherlands will play the semi-finals in Belgium.
The men's final always takes place in Belgium.
How is the competition schedule structured?
There are four groups of four teams in both the women's and men's competitions. After the first group stage, the two best teams from two groups are regrouped into a new group. For example, the two best teams from group A and the two best teams from group D form a new group, group E. The same applies to groups B and C, which together form group F.
In the second group stage, each country plays two more matches against the two “new” countries in the new group. The result achieved against the country already played in the first group stage also counts towards the final ranking of the new group. The best two teams from the new groups E and F qualify for the semi-finals.
The third and fourth-placed teams from these groups will play placement matches for rankings 5 to 8. The countries from groups G and H will compete for places 9 to 16.
When will the full competition schedule be announced?
Because not all the countries that will participate in the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup are known yet, the pool lineup and full match schedule will be announced in late March 2026.
When will the pool classification be announced?
As not all countries participating in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 are known yet, the group stage and the full match schedule will be announced at the end of March 2026.
