India will begin their campaigns at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 on Saturday, with the men’s and women’s teams set to play their pool matches at the Wagener Stadion in Amstelveen. The men’s and women’s tournaments are being held simultaneously in Belgium and the Netherlands from August 15 to 30.
The Indian men’s team, captained by Harmanpreet Singh, has been placed in Pool D alongside England, Pakistan and Wales. India will open their campaign against Wales on August 15 before facing England and Pakistan, with the India-Pakistan clash scheduled for August 19.
The women’s team, led by Salima Tete, is also in Pool D, alongside the People’s Republic of China, England and South Africa. India’s women will begin against China on August 16.
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India men aim to end 51-year World Cup wait
Harmanpreet will lead India in his second Hockey World Cup as captain, following his stint at the 2023 edition. He becomes only the second Indian captain after Ajit Pal Singh to lead the country at two World Cups.
Ajit Pal captained India at the 1971 World Cup before returning as skipper in 1975, when India won their only title. The men’s team will now seek to end a 51-year wait for another World Cup triumph.
Mandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh are set to make their fourth World Cup appearances. Manpreet has 417 international appearances, a new Indian record, and will enter the tournament as its most-capped player.
Women’s team has five players with 200-plus caps
India’s women’s squad also features significant international experience. Five players have crossed the 200-cap mark, with goalkeeper Savita Punia leading the group with 313 appearances. She is also the most-capped player among all teams competing at the Women’s World Cup.
India have yet to win the women’s Hockey World Cup, while the Netherlands enter the tournament as the reigning champions and the most successful team in the competition’s history with nine titles.
In the men’s tournament, Pakistan have won the World Cup four times, making them the most successful team in the competition. Germany are the defending champions.
New World Cup format explained
Under the new FIH World Cup format, the 16 participating teams are divided into four pools of four. Each team plays three matches in the opening stage.
The top two teams from each pool progress to crossover Pools E and F, while the bottom two teams move into Pools G and H. After three additional matches, the top two teams from Pools E and F qualify directly for the semi-finals. The remaining teams play classification matches to determine positions from fifth to 16th.
India Hockey World Cup 2026 schedule
MenAugust 15: India vs Wales, 4:30 PM
August 17: India vs England, 6:30 PM
August 19: India vs Pakistan, 6:30 PM
August 22-24: Crossover matches, subject to qualification
August 28: Classification match/semi-final, subject to qualification
August 30: Third-place playoff/final, subject to qualification
Women
August 16: India vs China, 4:30 PM
August 18: India vs South Africa, 6:30 PM
August 20: India vs England, 6:30 PM
August 22-25: Crossover matches, subject to qualification
August 27-28: Classification match/semi-final, subject to qualification
August 29: Third-place playoff/final, subject to qualification
All timings are in Indian Standard Time.
Where to watch Hockey World Cup 2026 in India
Live streaming of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 will be available on JioHotstar. Television coverage in India will be available on Star Sports Select 2 (SD+HD), Star Sports Khel and DD Sports on DD Free Dish.
India squads for Hockey World Cup 2026
Men: Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Mohith HS, Suraj Karkera, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Yashdeep Siwach, Rajinder Singh, Aditya Lalage, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Prasad, Dilpreet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjeet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Abhishek.
Women: Salima Tete (captain), Savita Punia, Bichu Devi Kharibam, Ishika Chaudhary, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Lalthantluangi, Jyoti, Shilpi Dabas, Nikki Pradhan, Sakshi Rana, Sunelita Toppo, Neha, Deepika Soreng, Lalremsiami Hmarzote, Rutuja Pisal, Navneet Kaur, Deepika, Ishika, Baljeet Kaur, Beauty Dungdung.
All matches
Women
| Date | Match | Time (IST) | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 15 Aug 2026 | 1 | 13:30 | Australia vs Japan |
| Sat, 15 Aug 2026 | 2 | 15:00 | Germany vs Scotland |
| Sat, 15 Aug 2026 | 3 | 19:30 | Netherlands vs Chile |
| Sat, 15 Aug 2026 | 4 | 21:00 | Argentina vs United States |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 5 | 13:30 | England vs South Africa |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 6 | 16:30 | China vs India |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 7 | 21:00 | Belgium vs New Zealand |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 8 | 00:00 | Spain vs Ireland |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 9 | 13:00 | Chile vs Japan |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 10 | 14:30 | United States vs Scotland |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 11 | 20:30 | Germany vs Argentina |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 12 | 21:30 | Australia vs Netherlands |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 13 | 14:30 | New Zealand vs Ireland |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 14 | 16:00 | England vs China |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 15 | 18:30 | India vs South Africa |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 16 | 00:00 | Spain vs Belgium |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 17 | 13:00 | Chile vs Australia |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 18 | 14:30 | Argentina vs Scotland |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 19 | 17:30 | United States vs Germany |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 20 | 21:30 | Netherlands vs Japan |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 21 | 13:00 | China vs South Africa |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 22 | 17:30 | New Zealand vs Spain |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 23 | 18:30 | India vs England |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 24 | 00:00 | Belgium vs Ireland |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 25 | 13:00 | 3rd Pool D vs 4th Pool A |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 26 | 16:00 | 3rd Pool A vs 4th Pool D |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 27 | 18:30 | 1st Pool D vs 2nd Pool A |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 28 | 21:30 | 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool D |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 29 | 15:00 | 3rd Pool C vs 4th Pool B |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 30 | 18:00 | 3rd Pool B vs 4th Pool C |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 31 | 21:00 | 1st Pool C vs 2nd Pool B |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 32 | 00:00 | 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool C |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 33 | 13:30 | 4th Pool A vs 4th Pool D |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 34 | 16:30 | 3rd Pool A vs 3rd Pool D |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 35 | 19:30 | 1st Pool A vs 1st Pool D |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 36 | 22:30 | 2nd Pool A vs 2nd Pool D |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 37 | 14:30 | 4th Pool C vs 4th Pool B |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 38 | 17:30 | 3rd Pool C vs 3rd Pool B |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 39 | 20:30 | 2nd Pool C vs 2nd Pool B |
| Tue, 25 Aug 2026 | 40 | 00:00 | 1st Pool C vs 1st Pool B |
| Thu, 27 Aug 2026 | 41 | 13:00 | 3rd Pool G vs 3rd Pool H |
| Thu, 27 Aug 2026 | 42 | 14:30 | 4th Pool G vs 4th Pool H |
| Thu, 27 Aug 2026 | 43 | 16:00 | 2nd Pool G vs 2nd Pool H |
| Thu, 27 Aug 2026 | 44 | 17:30 | 1st Pool G vs 1st Pool H |
| Thu, 27 Aug 2026 | 45 | 18:30 | 3rd Pool E vs 3rd Pool F |
| Thu, 27 Aug 2026 | 46 | 20:30 | 4th Pool E vs 4th Pool F |
| Thu, 27 Aug 2026 | 47 | 21:30 | 1st Pool E vs 2nd Pool F |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 48 | 00:00 | 1st Pool F vs 2nd Pool E |
| Sat, 29 Aug 2026 | 49 | 16:30 | Loser 47 vs Loser 48 |
| Sat, 29 Aug 2026 | 50 | 19:30 | Winner 47 vs Winner 48 |
Men
| Date | Match | Time (IST) | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 15 Aug 2026 | 1 | 16:30 | India vs Wales |
| Sat, 15 Aug 2026 | 2 | 18:00 | Germany vs Malaysia |
| Sat, 15 Aug 2026 | 3 | 22:30 | England vs Pakistan |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 4 | 00:30 | Belgium vs France |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 5 | 15:00 | Australia vs Ireland |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 6 | 18:00 | Spain vs South Africa |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 7 | 19:30 | Netherlands vs New Zealand |
| Sun, 16 Aug 2026 | 8 | 22:30 | Argentina vs Japan |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 9 | 16:00 | Pakistan vs Wales |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 10 | 17:30 | France vs Malaysia |
| Mon, 17 Aug 2026 | 11 | 18:30 | India vs England |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 12 | 00:00 | Germany vs Belgium |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 13 | 13:00 | New Zealand vs Japan |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 14 | 17:30 | Spain vs Australia |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 15 | 20:30 | Ireland vs South Africa |
| Tue, 18 Aug 2026 | 16 | 21:30 | Argentina vs Netherlands |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 17 | 16:00 | England vs Wales |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 18 | 18:30 | Pakistan vs India |
| Wed, 19 Aug 2026 | 19 | 20:30 | France vs Germany |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 20 | 00:00 | Belgium vs Malaysia |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 21 | 14:30 | Australia vs South Africa |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 22 | 16:00 | New Zealand vs Argentina |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 23 | 20:30 | Ireland vs Spain |
| Thu, 20 Aug 2026 | 24 | 21:30 | Netherlands vs Japan |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 25 | 14:30 | 3rd Pool B vs 4th Pool C |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 26 | 17:30 | 3rd Pool C vs 4th Pool B |
| Fri, 21 Aug 2026 | 27 | 20:30 | 1st Pool C vs 2nd Pool B |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 28 | 00:00 | 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool C |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 29 | 13:30 | 3rd Pool A vs 4th Pool D |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 30 | 16:30 | 3rd Pool D vs 4th Pool A |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 31 | 19:30 | 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool D |
| Sat, 22 Aug 2026 | 32 | 22:30 | 1st Pool D vs 2nd Pool A |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 33 | 15:00 | 4th Pool B vs 4th Pool C |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 34 | 18:00 | 3rd Pool B vs 3rd Pool C |
| Sun, 23 Aug 2026 | 35 | 21:00 | 1st Pool B vs 1st Pool C |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 36 | 00:00 | 2nd Pool B vs 2nd Pool C |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 37 | 13:00 | 4th Pool A vs 4th Pool D |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 38 | 16:00 | 3rd Pool A vs 3rd Pool D |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 39 | 18:15 | 2nd Pool A vs 2nd Pool D |
| Mon, 24 Aug 2026 | 40 | 21:30 | 1st Pool A vs 1st Pool D |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 41 | 13:00 | 3rd Pool G vs 3rd Pool H |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 42 | 14:30 | 4th Pool G vs 4th Pool H |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 43 | 16:00 | 2nd Pool G vs 2nd Pool H |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 44 | 17:30 | 1st Pool G vs 1st Pool H |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 45 | 18:30 | 3rd Pool E vs 3rd Pool F |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 46 | 20:30 | 4th Pool E vs 4th Pool F |
| Fri, 28 Aug 2026 | 47 | 21:30 | 1st Pool E vs 2nd Pool F |
| Sat, 29 Aug 2026 | 48 | 00:00 | 1st Pool F vs 2nd Pool E |
| Sun, 30 Aug 2026 | 49 | 17:30 | Loser 47 vs Loser 48 |
| Sun, 30 Aug 2026 | 50 | 20:00 | Winner 47 vs Winner 48 |
