FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 format explained: How the new tournament structure will work as 16 teams aim for glory

The 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup will get underway on Saturday, with both the men's and women's competitions being concurrently hosted in Belgium and Netherlands. Both the competitions will comprise of 16 teams each, with the two best teams competing in the final on 30 August.

In the men's Hockey World Cup, India have been placed in Group D, along with England, Wales and Pakistan. In the women's competition too, India have been placed in Group D with England, South Africa and China.

While the FIH World Cup has been a 16-team affair from the 2018 edition, the tournament this time will introduce a new format. Let's now take a look at what the new format looks like across both the men's and women's competitions.

New format of FIH Hockey World Cup explained

The 16 teams competing in both the men's and women's competitions have been divided into four pools of four teams each.

In the men's competition, Pool A consists of New Zealand, Argentina, Netherlands and Japan, whereas Belgium, Malaysia, France and Germany make up Pool B. Spain, Australia, Ireland and South Africa are in Pool C, whereas India, England, Pakistan and Wales are in Pool D.

In the women's competition, Netherlands, Australia, Japan and Chile feature in Pool A, whereas Pool B includes Germany, Argentina, Scotland and USA. New Zealand, Spain, Belgium and Ireland are in Pool C, whereas India, China, England and South Africa are in Pool D.

Unlike previous editions, this time the tournament will feature a second round pool stage, which will consist of eight teams. Previously, the top two teams from each pool would qualify for the quarter-finals, then the semi-finals, the bronze medal match and the gold medal match. However, this time, things are a little different.

The top two teams from each pool in the initial stage qualify for the second round pool stage, which will feature Pools E and F. The eight teams that qualify will be divided into two pools of four teams each. However, here's the catch— Every team that advances to the second round will play just two matches, and not three.

For example, if India and England qualify from Group D, these two teams will not face each other again in the second round, with both India and England carrying forward the points from the first pool stage. India and England will instead take on the teams that qualified from Pool A.

The top two teams from Pools E and F will then eventually qualify for the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the winners of Pool E will lock horns against the runners-up of Pool F, whereas the runners-up of Pool E will take on winners of Pool F.

The winners of both semi-finals will then face off in the gold medal match, whereas the losers will compete in the bronze medal match.