India to meet Netherlands and Argentina in second round of FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026

The Indian men’s hockey team secured qualification for the second round of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 after a 5-3 victory over Pakistan at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen on Wednesday, finishing second in Pool D with six points from three matches.

India, coached by Craig Fulton, opened the tournament with a 3-1 win against Wales before suffering a 2-4 defeat to England in their second pool fixture; the World Number #7 side collected six points from three matches to advance. India are a former World Cup champion, having won the title in 1975.

In the second-round draw India have been placed in Pool E alongside England and the two qualifiers from Pool A: Netherlands and Argentina. The Netherlands, co-hosts of the tournament, won all three of their pool matches, beating New Zealand 5-1, Argentina 3-1 and Japan 4-1, while Argentina secured the other Pool A spot with 4-0 and 7-1 victories over Japan and New Zealand respectively.

India’s result against England from the first stage will carry over into Pool E, leaving India with 0 points and a goal difference of -2 and England with three points and a goal difference of +2 before the second round begins. The Netherlands enter Pool E on similar points and goal difference to England, while Argentina start on the same points and goal difference as India; India are currently third in Pool E.

India’s remaining second-round fixtures are against the Netherlands on Saturday and Argentina on Monday; the match versus the Dutch is scheduled for August 22 (Saturday) with a 7:30 pm IST start time. The Netherlands are noted in the report as the reigning Olympic champions, and Argentina previously inflicted a 0-8 defeat on India earlier this year, described as India’s joint-worst loss.

The report states that Craig Fulton’s side would need to win both of their Pool E matches to have a strong probability of qualifying for the semi-final, adding that one draw would significantly weaken those chances and a worse result would virtually rule them out; the piece also notes Harmanpreet Singh is part of the squad.

To advance to the World Cup semi-finals India must finish in the top two of Pool E, having already played England and with matches against the Netherlands and Argentina still to be played.