The Indian comprehensive defeat at the hands of Argentina at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen on Monday spelled the end of its hopes of winning a Hockey World Cup in 2026 across both the men’s and women’s competitions.
The men’s team’s 3-5 defeat to Argentina meant that it finished bottom of Pool E behind Netherlands, Argentina, and England with zero points having lost all three of its matches.
The Craig Fulton-coached side had initially qualified as the second-place side in its first-round group alongside England, Pakistan, and Wales.
It now faces a seventh-place playoff against Belgium at the Belfus Hockey Arena in Wavre on August 28 as its final match of the tournament.
The Indian women’s team also saw its hopes of winning a maiden World Cup title come to an end the day before after a goalless draw against Australia.
That draw ensured that it finished third in its second-round pool behind Australia and Netherlands, but ahead of China. It had finished second in its first-round pool featuring China, South Africa, and England.
It will now play a fifth-place playoff against Germany at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen on August 27 to close out its tournament.
Here is every result and goalscorer for the Indian men’s and women’s teams at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026:
Men’s
First round:
India (Sanjay 8’, Harmanpreet 11’, 43’) 3-1 Wales (Welsh 56’)
India (Harmanpreet 17’, Dilpreet 25’) 2-4 England (Bandurak 14’, 55’, Rushmere 39’, Croft 43’)
Pakistan (Shahid 22’, 46’, Khan 24’) 3-5 India (Harmanpreet 5’, 21’, Abhishek 11’, 24’, Hardik 35’)
Second round:
Netherlands (Telgenkamp 41’, Hoedemakers 51’, Van Dam 55’) 3-1 India (Harmanpreet 52’)
Argentina (J Toscani 1’, Della Torre 6’, Domene 33’, 45’, L Toscani 53’) 5-3 India (Sukhjeet 10’, 58’, Hardik 60’)
Women’s
First round:
China (Zhang 15’, Ma 39’) 2-2 India (Navneet 8’, Deepika 25’)
India (Sunelita 11’, Navneet 17’, Sushila 25’, Deepika 38’, Lalremsiami 44’. Sakshi 45’) 6-1 South Africa (De Waal 55’)
India 0-0 England
Second round:
Netherlands (Jansen 2’, Matla 38’) 2-0 India
Australia 0-0 India
Published on Aug 25, 2026
