Tezzbuzz Desk- Hockey's biggest tournament FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 is going to start from August 15. This time the tournament is special in many ways, because for the first time both men's and women's World Cups are being organized together. Both the tournaments will start from August 15 and their matches will be played in Netherlands and Belgium. The men's final will be held on August 30 and the women's final on August 29.
This time the tournament is being hosted jointly by Netherlands and Belgium. The matches will be played at the Wagner Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands and the new Belfius Hockey Arena in Belgium. 16 teams each are participating in both men's and women's competitions. These teams have been divided into four pools of four each. Each team will play one match each against the remaining three teams of its pool. This time a major change has been made in the format of the Hockey World Cup. A three-round format is being implemented for the first time. After the first group stage, another group stage will be played instead of direct knockout. In the first phase, the top two teams from each pool will advance to the next round, while the bottom placed teams will compete for the 9th to 16th positions.
In the second group stage, the eight teams that qualified from the first round will be divided into two new pools. Pool E will consist of the top two teams each from Pools A and D, while Pool F will consist of the top two teams each from Pools B and C. In this phase, teams will play against teams from other pools. The results and points of the matches played against each other in the first stage will also be added in the next stage. After this, the top two teams of both the pools will reach the semi-finals. The Indian men's team has been placed in Pool D along with Pakistan, England and Wales. India will play its first match against Wales on 15 August. This match will start at 4:30 pm Indian time. After this, India will face England on August 17 at 6:30 pm. The much-awaited clash between India and Pakistan in the pool stage will take place on August 19. This match will start at 6:30 pm. The Indian men's team will play all its pool matches in the Netherlands.
The Indian women's team has also got a place in Pool D. Along with him there are teams from China, England and South Africa. The Indian women's team will play its first match against China on August 16 at 4:30 pm. After this, there will be matches against South Africa on 18th August and England on 20th August. Both matches will start at 6:30 pm. Live telecast of Hockey World Cup matches in India Star Sports Network But it will be done. Also the audience DD Sports You will be able to watch the matches also. online streaming JioHotstar Will be available on. This time, the simultaneous organization of the Men's and Women's World Cup and the new three-round format is going to make the tournament more exciting than before.