Netherlands lead World Cup head-to-head with India 6-0-1 ahead of Pool E meeting
India and the Netherlands have met seven times in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, with the Dutch winning six and one match finishing level, ahead of their Pool E meeting on August 22 at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026.
India secured progression to the tournament’s second round after finishing second in Pool D under captain Harmanpreet Singh, with results that included a 3-1 win over Wales, a 2-4 loss to England and a 5-3 victory over Pakistan at Wagener Stadium. Those outcomes placed India into Pool E alongside England and the top two teams from Pool A, identified in the second-round grouping as the Netherlands and Argentina. The Netherlands completed the group stage with three wins — over New Zealand, Argentina and Japan — to top their pool. India will begin Pool E with zero points following the loss to England, while the Netherlands and England start Pool E with three points apiece after drawing each other in the group stage.
Across their seven World Cup meetings the sides have combined for 40 goals; the Netherlands have scored 28 and India 12. India remain without a World Cup victory against the Netherlands, the Dutch having won six of the seven contests and one match finishing level after regulation and extra time.
The first World Cup encounter between the teams occurred in the 1973 final in Amstelveen, which finished 2-2 after extra time before the Netherlands prevailed 4-2 in the penalty stroke competition to claim their maiden World Cup title.
The most recent World Cup meeting took place at the 2018 tournament in Bhubaneswar, where the Netherlands beat India 2-1 in the quarter-finals and eliminated the hosts from that edition. India’s heaviest World Cup defeats by the Dutch include a 0-5 loss in 1998 and a 1-6 defeat in 2006.
India face the Netherlands on August 22 and then Argentina on August 24 in Pool E, with only the top two teams from Pool E advancing to the semi-finals of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026.
