2026 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup
Field hockey championship edition
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The 2026 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup was the 16th edition of the Women's FIH Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for women's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It was held from 15 to 29 August 2026 in Wavre, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Host countriesBelgium
Netherlands
Netherlands
Dates15–29 August
Teams16 (from 5 confederations)
Together for glory | |||
| Tournament details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Host countries | Belgium Netherlands | ||
| Cities | Wavre Amsterdam | ||
| Dates | 15–29 August | ||
| Teams | 16 (from 5 confederations) | ||
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) | ||
| Final positions | |||
| Champions |  Argentina (3rd title) | ||
| Runner-up |  Netherlands | ||
| Third place |  Belgium | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 50 | ||
| Goals scored | 177 (3.54 per match) | ||
| Top scorer | Yibbi Jansen (8 goals) | ||
| Best player | Charlotte Englebert | ||
| Best young player | Zoe Díaz | ||
| Best goalkeeper |  Jocelyn Bartram | ||
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Belgium and Netherlands were given the hosting rights in November 2022, beating bids from Australia, South Africa and Uruguay in the process. This was the second time the women's event was co-hosted after 2022. This also marked Belgium's first and Netherlands' fifth time hosting. This was also the first time the men's and women's world cup were held as one joint tournament.
16 teams were participating 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.
Netherlands were the defending champions after defeating the Argentina 3–1 at the 2022 final in Terrassa. Argentina returned the favour and won after penalties against the Netherlands to win their third title. Belgium beat Australia 1–0 to win their second bronze medal, the first since the 1978 World Cup.[1]
Host selection
The International Hockey Federation announced on 15 June 2022 that they had received the following four bids for the 2026 World Cup.[2][3] The winning bid was to be announced on 3 November 2022.
The following two bids included holding combined women's and men's world cup simultaneously:
Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands were awarded the hosting rights on 3 November 2022.[4] This was the Netherlands' fifth time hosting after 1986, 1998, 2014, and 2022. This was Belgium's first time hosting.
Teams
Qualification
Qualified
Hosts
Just as in 2018 and 2023, 16 teams will compete in the tournament. Alongside hosts, Belgium and Netherlands, the top-ranked team in the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons in the FIH Pro League and the five continental champions receive an automatic berth. The other 16 teams will compete for the last seven places in the World Cup Qualifiers. Of the qualified teams, 14 took part in the previous edition.
Returnees
- Scotland returns after last taking part in 2002.
- United States qualified after missing out in 2022.
Absentees
- South Korea failed to qualify for the first time since 1986, having made the previous nine editions.
- Canada didn't advance after making their first appearance since 1994 in 2022.
The highest ranked team to not qualify was France, ranked 16th, while the lowest ranked team to qualify was South Africa, ranked 18th.
| Dates | Event | Location | Quotas | Qualifier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 November 2022 | Hosts | N/a | 2 | Belgium Netherlands |
| 6 December 2023 – 29 June 2024 | 2023–24 FIH Pro League | N/a | 1 |  Germany |
| 30 November 2024 – 29 June 2025 | 2024–25 FIH Pro League | N/a | 1 | Argentina |
| 24 July – 3 August 2025 | 2025 Pan American Cup |  Montevideo |
1 |  United States |
| 9–17 August 2025 | 2025 EuroHockey Championship | Mönchengladbach |
1 |  Spain |
| 4–7 September 2025 | 2025 Oceania Cup | Darwin |
1 |  New Zealand |
| 5–14 September 2025 | 2025 Asia Cup |  Hangzhou |
1 | China |
| 11–18 October 2025 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |  Ismailia |
1 |  South Africa |
| 2–8 March 2026 | 2026 World Cup Qualifiers |  Santiago |
4 | Australia Chile Ireland Japan |
| 8–14 March 2026 |  Hyderabad |
3 |  England India Scotland | |
| Total | 16 | |||
Summary of qualified teams
| Team | Qualification method | Date of qualification | Appearance(s) | Previous best performance[A] | WR[B] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | First | Last | Streak | |||||
| Belgium |
Co-hosts | 3 November 2022 | 8th | 1974 | 2022 | 4 | Third place (1978) | 3 |
| Netherlands |
16th | 1974 | 16 | Champions (Nine times)[C] | 1 | |||
| Germany |
2023–24 FIH Pro League | 27 June 2024 | 16th | 1974 | 16 | Champions (1976, 1981) | 5 | |
| Argentina |
2024–25 FIH Pro League | 22 June 2025 | 16th | 1974 | 16 | Champions (2002, 2010) | 2 | |
| United States |
2025 Pan American Cup | 1 August 2025 | 10th | 1983 | 2018 | 1 | Third place (1994) | 11 |
| Spain |
2025 EuroHockey Championship | 13 August 2025 | 13th | 1974 | 2022 | 3 | Third place (2018) | 6 |
| New Zealand |
2025 Oceania Cup | 7 September 2025 | 10th | 1983 | 5 | Fourth place (1986) | 10 | |
| China |
2025 Asia Cup | 14 September 2025 | 10th | 1990 | 10 | Third place (2002) | 4 | |
| South Africa |
2025 Africa Cup of Nations | 18 October 2025 | 8th | 1998 | 8 | Seventh place (1998) | 18 | |
| Australia |
2026 World Cup Qualifiers | 7 March 2026 | 13th | 1981 | 13 | Champions (1994, 1998) | 8 | |
| Chile |
2nd | 2022 | 2 | Thirteenth place (2022) | 13 | |||
| Ireland |
8 March 2026 | 6th | 1986 | 2022 | 3 | Runners-up (2018) | 12 | |
| England |
13 March 2026 | 12th | 1983 | 12 | Third place (2010) | 7 | ||
| India |
9th | 1974 | 3 | Fourth place (1974) | 9 | |||
| Japan |
10th | 1978 | 4 | Fifth place (2006) | 15 | |||
| Scotland |
14 March 2026 | 5th | 1983 | 2002 | 1 | Eighth place (1983) | 14 | |
Venues
The Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre was renovated during the preparations for the tournament. The venue was completed in early 2026 and has a 4,000 capacity that was expanded to 10,000 for the tournament.[5] The Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen is 8,000 but was also expanded to 10,000 for the event.[6]
| Amstelveen |
Wavre | |
|---|---|---|
| Wagener Stadium | Belfius Hockey Arena | |
| Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 10,000 | |
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Draw
The final draw took place at 15:00 CET on 17 March 2026 at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands.[7][8] Model and presenter, Joyce Colfs, hosted the draw. Field Hockey players, Naomi van As, Barbara Nelen and Teun de Nooijer, alongside Dutch rapper La Fuente, were the guests who assisted the draw. The draw started with the co-hosts being placed into their respective groups held in their country, as well as the two remaining pot 1 teams, Argentina and China, being pre-drawn into groups B and D respectively. The draw continued with, in order, pots 4, 3 and 2 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. The position for the team within the group would then be drawn (for the purpose of the schedule). There were no restrictions.
| 2026 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup – Draw | |
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 Draw Live Stream (log in required) |
Seeding
| Team |
|---|
| Netherlands (H) |
| Argentina |
| Belgium (H) |
| China |
| Team |
|---|
| India |
| New Zealand |
| Chile |
| United States |
| Team |
|---|
| Ireland |
| Scotland |
| Japan |
| South Africa |
Draw results
| Pos | Team |
|---|---|
| A1 | Netherlands (H) |
| A2 | Australia |
| A3 | Chile |
| A4 | Japan |
| Pos | Team |
|---|---|
| B1 | Argentina |
| B2 | Germany |
| B3 | United States |
| B4 | Scotland |
| Pos | Team |
|---|---|
| C1 | Belgium (H) |
| C2 | Spain |
| C3 | New Zealand |
| C4 | Ireland |
| Pos | Team |
|---|---|
| D1 | China |
| D2 | England |
| D3 | India |
| D4 | South Africa |
Schedule
| Schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
| Round | Gameday | Date |
| Preliminary round | Gameday 1 | 15–16 August 2026 |
| Gameday 2 | 17–18 August 2026 | |
| Gameday 3 | 19–20 August 2026 | |
| Second round Classification round | ||
| Gameday 4 | 21–22 August 2026 | |
| Gameday 5 | 23–24 August 2026 | |
| Knockout stage | ||
| Semi-finals Placement games |
27 August 2026 | |
| Final | 29 August 2026 | |
Umpires
On 20 January 2026, 16 umpires were appointed by the FIH for this tournament.[9][10]
- Irene Presenqui (ARG)
- Aleisha Neumann (AUS)
- Kristy Robertson (AUS)
- Laurine Delforge (BEL)
- Magali Sergeant (BEL)
- Liu Xiaoying (CHN)
- Hannah Harrison (ENG)
- Rachel Williams (ENG)
- Alison Keogh (IRL)
- Amber Church (NZL)
- Victoria Pazos (PAR)
- Sarah Wilson (SCO)
- Annelize Rostron (RSA)
- Wanri Venter (RSA)
- Kim Yoon-seon (KOR)
- Ayanna McClean (TTO)
Squads
First round
The hosts schedule was published on 30 September 2025.[11] The match schedule was revealed on 18 March 2026.[12]
All times are local (UTC+2).
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 9 | Second round |
| 2 | Australia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Japan |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 3 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | Chile |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 1 |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
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Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Second round |
| 2 | Germany |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | United States |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | Scotland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Pool C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 7 | Second round |
| 2 | Spain |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | |
| 3 | Ireland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 0 |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
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Pool D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 7 | Second round |
| 2 | India |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 5 | |
| 3 | England |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | 9th–16th classification |
| 4 | South Africa |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 0 |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Second round
Pool E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 9 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Australia |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 2 | |
| 3 | India |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | China |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 | Seventh place game |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
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Pool F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Belgium (H) |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 | Germany |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | Spain |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 | Seventh place game |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
(H) Hosts
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Classification round
Pool G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 9 | Ninth place game |
| 2 | Japan |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | Eleventh place game |
| 3 | South Africa |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 4 | 13th place game |
| 4 | Chile |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | 15th place game |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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Pool H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 7 | Ninth place game |
| 2 | Scotland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Eleventh place game |
| 3 | Ireland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | 13th place game |
| 4 | New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | 15th place game |
Source: FIH
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) matches won; 3) goal difference; 4) goals for; 5) head-to-head result; 6) field goals scored.
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15th place match
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13th place match
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Eleventh place match
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Ninth place match
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Seventh place match
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Fifth place match
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First to fourth place classification
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 27 August | ||||||
| Netherlands | 1 | |||||
| 29 August | ||||||
| Belgium | 0 | |||||
| Netherlands | 1 (1) | |||||
| 27 August | ||||||
| Argentina (p.s.o.) | 1 (3) | |||||
| Argentina | 1 | |||||
| Australia | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 29 August | ||||||
| Belgium | 1 | |||||
| Australia | 0 | |||||
Semifinals
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Bronze medal match
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Gold medal match
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Final ranking
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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B | Argentina |
7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 15 | Gold medal |
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A | Netherlands (H) |
7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 4 | +19 | 19 | Silver medal |
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C | Belgium (H) |
7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 14 | Bronze medal |
| 4 | A | Australia |
7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 6 | Fourth place |
| 5 | D | India |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 9 | Fifth place |
| 6 | B | Germany |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 9 | Sixth place |
| 7 | C | Spain |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 8 | Seventh place |
| 8 | D | China |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 9 | Eight place |
| 9 | D | England |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 13 | Ninth place |
| 10 | B | United States |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 8 | Tenth place |
| 11 | A | Japan |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 16 | −8 | 7 | Eleventh place |
| 12 | B | Scotland |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 6 | Twelfth place |
| 13 | C | Ireland |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 6 | 13th place |
| 14 | D | South Africa |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 19 | −13 | 4 | 14th place |
| 15 | C | New Zealand |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 4 | 15th place |
| 16 | A | Chile |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 1 | 16th place |
Goalscorers
There were 177 goals scored in 50 matches, for an average of 3.54 goals per match.
8 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Brisa Bruggesser- Lara Casas
- Juana Castellaro
- Julieta Jankunas
- Eugenia Trinchinetti
Stephanie Kershaw- Courtney Schonell
- Mariah Williams
Ambre Ballenghien- Delphine Marien
- Emma Puvrez
Fernanda Arrieta- Simone Avelli
- Florencia Barrios
- Laura Müller
- Paula Valdivia
- Fernanda Villagrán
Chen Yang- Chen Yi
- Liu Chencheng
- Ma Ning
- Zhong Jiaqi
Alice Atkinson- Grace Balsdon
- Charlotte Bingham
- Holly Hunt
- Lily Owsley
- Lily Walker
Johanna Hachenberg- Lena Micheel
- Sara Strauss
- Yani Zhong
- Sonja Zimmermann
Sushila Chanu- Lalremsiami Hmarzote
- Ishika
- Sunelita Toppo
- Sakshi Rana
Charlotte Beggs- Michelle Carey
- Sarah Hawkshaw
- Emily Kealy
- Hannah McLoughlin
- Katie Mullan
- Róisín Upton
Miyu Hasegawa- Shiho Kobayakawa
- Akari Nakagomi
- Emi Nishikori
- Miyu Suzuki
- Maho Ueno
Freeke Moes
Hannah Cotter- Kaitlin Cotter
- Riana Pho
- Brittany Wang
Fiona Burnet- Heather McEwan
- Sarah Robertson
- Millie Steiger
- Charlotte Watson
Paris-Gail Isaacs- Caylin Maree
- Edith Molikoe
- Kayla de Waal
Lucía Jiménez- Sofía Keenan
- Marta Segú
- Laia Vidosa
Lucy Adams- Reese D'Ariano
- Claire Danahy
- Emma DeBerdine
- Sophia Gladieux
- Ryleigh Heck
- Ashley Sessa
- Abigail Tamer
Source: FIH
Awards
The awards were announced on 29 August 2026.[1]
| Award | Player |
|---|---|
| Player of the tournament | Charlotte Englebert |
| Goalkeeper of the tournament | Jocelyn Bartram |
| Young player of the tournament | Zoe Díaz |
Broadcasting rights
The television channels broadcasting the event was as follows:[13]
Qualified teams
| Territory | Rights holder |
|---|---|
| Argentina Chile |
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| Australia |
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| Belgium |
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| China |
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| England |
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| Germany |
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| India |
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 Ireland |
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 Malaysia |
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| Netherlands |
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 Pakistan |
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| Spain |
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| Scotland |
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 United States |
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 Wales |
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 France Japan New Zealand South Africa |
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Non-qualified teams
| Territory | Rights holder |
|---|---|
| Americas | |
| Middle East |
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 Canada |
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| Asia | |
| Rest of World |
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