Netherlands beat India 2-0 at Amstelveen to secure World Cup semi-final spot

Defending champions Netherlands defeated India 2-0 at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen on Friday in their opening second-stage match of the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup 2026, with Yibbi Jansen (2’) and Frederique Matla (38’) the goalscorers.

India entered the second stage carrying one point from a draw with China in the first stage, while the Netherlands added three to the three points they had carried forward to move to six; China sit on two points after drawing with Australia earlier in the day and Australia are level with India on one.

The Netherlands pressed from the start and won a penalty corner within the opening two minutes, from which Jansen scored at 2’; Bichu Devi then produced a left-foot save from another penalty corner in the fifth minute and denied Freeke Moes moments later as the Dutch sustained early pressure.

India introduced Savita at the start of the second quarter; India earned a penalty corner in the 19th minute but Deepika’s flick was blocked when it struck the rusher’s foot and the retake was stopped by a Dutch stick, and Navneet Kaur’s 22nd-minute attempt flew over the crossbar as India sought an equaliser.

The Dutch increased their attacking work in the third quarter, with Salima superbly blocking a 33rd-minute penalty corner and India producing a counter in which Sunelita’s push lacked power, before Matla converted a 38th-minute penalty corner to make it 2-0.

In the final quarter Freeke Moes struck the post in the 54th minute and Savita made another stop two minutes later; Navneet’s 59th-minute chance was saved by Anne Veenendaal, who took a blow to her helmet, and a last-second Dutch penalty corner was prevented on the post by Ishika as the Netherlands held on.

The victory confirmed the Netherlands’ place in the semi-finals and left India dependent on results in their final Pool E fixture; India will next face Australia on August 23 (Sunday) at 10:30 pm IST and must win that match and hope the Netherlands beat China to advance to the last four.