India face Pakistan in Amstelveen as both seek second-round berth at FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup

India will meet Pakistan at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, in the sides’ first World Cup meeting since India’s 4-1 win in New Delhi on March 4, 2010.

India have been drawn in Pool D with England, Pakistan and Wales, with all of their group-stage matches played in Amstelveen, and both teams need strong results to improve their chances of advancing to the tournament’s second round.

India will be captained by drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh, who led the side to the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, while Abu Bakar Mahmood is named captain of Pakistan’s 20-member squad. The published squad list reads: Mohith HS, Suraj Karkera, Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Yashdeep Siwach, Rajinder Singh, Aditya Arjun Lalage, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad Waqar, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Sufyan Khan, Moeen Shakeel, Abdul Waheed Ashraf Rana, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Arshad Liaqat, Adil Latif, Ahmed Nadeem, Ghazanfar Ali, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Muhammad Hammaduddin Anjum, Rehman Abdul, Afraz, Umar Mustafa, Abu Bakar Mahmood (captain), Ali Raza, Abdul Manan and Muhammad Ammad.

Standing in Pool D, India sit second with three points from two games and require at least a draw in this fixture to secure qualification for the next round. Pakistan have one point from their opening matches and must win on Wednesday to keep their World Cup campaign alive.

India opened the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Wales before losing 2-4 to England; Pakistan drew with Wales and then went down 1-4 to England.

India have not lost to Pakistan in 19 meetings since 2016, recording 17 wins and two draws, and beat Pakistan 4-3 and 7-1 in Pro League matches in London in June of this year. Pakistan have not beaten India at a World Cup since 1986, and Pakistan have won the World Cup four times while India’s sole title came in 1975.

The match kicks off at 3 p.m. local time (6.30 p.m. IST and 6 p.m. in Pakistan) and will be televised live on Star Sports and streamed on JioHotstar in India.