India eliminated from Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 semi-final race after 3-5 loss to Argentina
India were eliminated from the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 semi-final race after a 3-5 defeat by Argentina in their concluding Pool E match at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen on Monday. The result leaves India unable to progress from Pool E after conceding five goals in the match; they had required a win by two goals to advance.
Argentina opened the scoring in the first minute through Joaquin Toscani and doubled their lead when Nicolas della Torre struck in the 7th minute, while Sukhjeet Singh pulled one back for India in the 10th minute. Tomas Domene scored twice, on 33′ and from a penalty stroke on 45′, and Lucas Toscani added a 53′ goal to make it 5-1 before Sukhjeet (58′) and Hardik Singh (60′) finished for India.
Argentina applied immediate pressure from the restart, earning a penalty corner in the third minute after Jarmanpreet Singh was penalised for deliberately using his stick to send the ball out of the baseline; Mohith saved the subsequent attempt but Argentina returned in the sixth minute after a loose defensive challenge by Yashdeep Siwach and Nicolas della Torre beat Mohith to his right. India were forced onto the back foot in the opening exchanges and struggled to contain Argentina’s rapid attacks.
India struck back via a move involving Abhishek that released Sukhjeet Singh’s 10th-minute finish, and Argentina came close again before the quarter hooter when Amit Rohidas failed to collect an aerial inside India’s 23-metre area. The second quarter produced no goals as India failed to convert possession into clear chances, with India creating openings through Aditya Arjun Lalage, Dilpreet Singh, Sanjay and Hardik Singh but committing unforced errors at crucial moments.
The third quarter proved decisive after Mohith saved an early Argentine penalty corner and Argentina’s appeal for a re-award was declined following a video referral; Sanjay was then dispossessed and Tomas Domene finished the resulting break to make it 3-1. India endured a frustrating sequence from penalty corners in the quarter, with Harmanpreet Singh’s drag-flicks repeatedly blocked by the Argentine rusher and a subsequent corner involving Yashdeep, Hardik and Jarmanpreet going unrewarded, while India’s referral was unsuccessful.
Argentine pressure continued late in the half when Mohith made two successive saves but Yashdeep was struck by the ball in front of goal, resulting in a penalty stroke that Tomas Domene converted in the 45th minute to extend the lead to 4-1. Lucas Toscani then struck a tomahawk past Suraj Karkera in the 53rd minute to make it 5-1; India responded with Sukhjeet’s 58th-minute deflection from Mandeep Singh’s cross and Hardik Singh’s 60th-minute penalty stroke, but a final penalty corner earned by Harmanpreet was saved by Argentina goalkeeper Tomas Santiago before the hooter.
Argentina moved to six points from the pool and will await the Netherlands-England result to determine which two teams progress to the semi-finals from Pool E. India finished bottom of Pool E with 0 points after three defeats and will play Belgium in the seven-eighth place playoff in the classification round.