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2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup final

International field hockey match From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup final was the final match of the 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, the 16th edition of the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. The match was played at Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium, on 30 August 2026, and was contested by Spain and defending champions Germany.

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2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup final
The Belfius Hockey Arena hosted the final.
Event2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup
Date30 August 2026 (2026-08-30)
VenueBelfius Hockey Arena, Wavre
Man of the MatchChristopher Rühr (Germany)
RefereeGareth Greenfield (New Zealand)
Coen van Bunge (Netherlands)
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The tournament involved co-hosts Belgium and Netherlands alongside 14 other teams. The 16 teams competed in a group stage, from which 8 teams qualified for the second round and 4 later advanced to the semifinals.

For Spain, it was the third final and it was the sixth final for the Germans. The two teams met earlier in the tournament, with the Spanish winning 2–1. It was the first time the two teams met in a World Cup final.

Michel Struthoff's solitary goal helped Germany retain their title.[1]

Background

The 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup was the 16th edition of the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It was held from 15 to 30 August 2026 in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands.

Belgium and Netherlands were given the hosting rights in November 2022, beating a joint bid from England and Wales as well as a South African bid in the process. This was the first time the men's event was co-hosted. This also marked Belgium's first and Netherlands' fourth time hosting. This was also the first time the men's and women's world cup were held as one joint tournament.

16 teams participated for the third time after the expansion in 2018. Qualification was an amalgamation of the FIH Pro League, continental championships and the World Cup Qualifiers. Qualification took place from December 2023 to March 2026 to decide the qualifiers.

Germany were the defending champions having defeated Belgium 5–4 in a shootout after the match finished 3–3 in regular time in Bhubaneswar.

Route to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.

More information Spain, Round ...
 Spain Round  Germany
Opponent Result First round Opponent Result
 South Africa 3–1 Match 1  Malaysia 5–1
 Australia 0–1 Match 2  Belgium 1–0
 Ireland 3–1 Match 3  France 1–1
Pool A placement

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Australia 3 7
2  Spain 3 6
3  Ireland 3 3
4  South Africa 3 1
Source: FIH
Final standings Pool B placement

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Germany 3 7
2  Belgium (H) 3 6
3  France 3 2
4  Malaysia 3 1
Source: FIH
(H) Hosts
Opponent Result Second round Opponent Result
 Germany 2–1 Match 4  Spain 1–2
 Belgium 1–1 Match 5  Australia 4–2
Pool F placement

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Germany 3 6
2  Spain 3 4
3  Australia 3 4
4  Belgium (H) 3 2
Source: FIH
(H) Hosts
Final standings Pool F placement

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Germany 3 6
2  Spain 3 4
3  Australia 3 4
4  Belgium (H) 3 2
Source: FIH
(H) Hosts
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 Netherlands 4–3 Semifinals  Argentina 2–1
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Venue

The Belfius Hockey Arena hosted the final for the first time.

More information Wavre ...
Wavre
Belfius Hockey Arena
Capacity: 10,000
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Match

More information Spain, 0–1 ...
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Sources:[3][4]

More information Num, Pos ...
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Technical official:
Argentina Adrian Della Mattia
Scoring judge:
Japan Eddie Nishizawa
Timing judge:
New Zealand Jackie Tomlinson
Video umpire:
Australia David Tomlinson
Reserve umpire:
Netherlands Coen van Bunge

Match rules

  • Four quarters of 15 minutes (60 minutes in total)
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.

Squads

Notes

References

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Timelines

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