FIH World Cup 2026 Format Explained: Here is how the group stage and knockout qualification work

FIH announced the schedule for the upcoming World Cup on Wednesday. The men’s and women’s editions will feature 16 teams each.

In the first round, the teams will be divided into four groups of four each (pools A, B, C, and D). The top two from each group advance to the second round while the bottom two go to the classification groups.

HERE ARE HOW THE POOLS ARE DIVIDED AT FIH WORLD CUP

The top two teams from pools A and D will move to pool E in the second round. Similarly, top two teams from pools B and C will form pool F. The bottom two from each group will form pools G and H and will be out of medal contention.

The teams will carry forward the results from the group stage to the second round. Hence, each team will play just two games in the second round.

For example, if India and England qualify for the second round from Pool D and Argentina and the Netherlands qualify from Pool A, India will only face Argentina and the Netherlands in the second round.

The top two from pools E and F after this will advance to the semifinals. The third-placed teams in pools E and F will face each other for the fifth place and the four-placed teams in pools E and F will play for the seventh place.

Similarly, in pools G and H, will end up competing for ninth to 16th places. For instance, the team that finishes top of pool G will face the team finishing top of pool H for the ninth place. Carrying on the process, the second-placed teams in pools G and H will play for the 11th spot.

Published on Mar 18, 2026