New World Cup format removes quarterfinals, complicates route to semifinals

On August 10, 2026, the format for the upcoming FIH men’s and women’s World Cups in the Netherlands and Belgium was revised to eliminate quarterfinals, creating a more arduous path for teams seeking the title. The change increases the importance of pool-stage results and introduces a second group stage that determines semifinalists.

Sixteen teams in each tournament will be split into four pools of four, with no quarterfinal round after the pool phase; quarterfinals previously appeared only briefly in the 2018 and 2022/2023 editions. India’s men are drawn in Pool D with England, Pakistan and Wales, while the Indian women occupy Pool D alongside China, England and South Africa. The top two teams from each initial pool will advance to a second stage made up of two groups of four, and the top two in those groups will move on to the semifinals.

If the India men’s team — or any of England, Pakistan or Wales from Pool D — progress to the second stage, they will be grouped with the top two sides from Pool A. In that scenario, "India’s result against the other team which advances from its pool, will be carried forward into the second stage."

Indian men’s head coach Craig Fulton emphasised the need to start strongly ahead of the new schedule. Fulton said: "The format has obviously changed drastically — from having quarterfinals to not having them. So the emphasis on the pool games is really, really important, because it’s obviously the top two that will go through. And the head-to-head result between those two teams matters: if one beats the other, those three points carry into the next round, and that puts you in the driving seat to get out of the next group and into the semifinals," said Fulton.

Sjoerd Marijne, the Indian women’s team head coach, described the revised schedule as lacking an additional knockout round and expressed a preference for quarterfinals. "It’s an interesting schedule, but my preference is to have quarterfinals in a tournament format. The higher-ranked teams will prefer this, but I think quarterfinals are among the most exciting matches," said Marjine.

Under the revised structure, the decisive phase will be the second-stage groups: the top two sides from each of those two groups will qualify for the semifinals, determining which teams progress to compete for the World Cup.