Who will India face in the second round of FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026?
(Courtesy : Hockey India)
The Indian women’s hockey Team will be playing in pool E in the second round of Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026
The Indian women’s hockey team put on a stunning defensive display against a higher-ranked England side, to hold them to a goalless draw at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen (Netherlands) on Thursday.
By virtue of the result, India have now sealed a spot in the second round of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026. They commendably emerged unbeaten after three matches, in what was potentially the toughest group in the competition.
The Sjoerd Marijne-coached side commenced their campaign with a 2-2 draw against reigning Olympic silver medalists China. In fact, such was their performance in the match that one would feel they were surely the better-placed team to get the three points.
In the next fixture, they secured their biggest-ever victory in World Cups, with a 6-1 win against South Africa.
Who will India face in the second round of FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026?
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India has been drawn into pool E, along with China and the two best teams from pool A—Netherlands and Australia.
Netherlands, the co-hosts of the competition, finished the pool stage with a perfect record to secure the top spot in Pool A, beating Chile (2-0), Australia (4-2) and Japan (9-0).
Australia, on the other hand, started with a 2-0 win against Japan and eventually ended the round with a high-scoring 4-4 draw against Chile.
The Salima Tete-led India will be up against the Netherlands on Friday and then Australia on Sunday. It is worth noting that the result against China will be carried forward, meaning India and China will start off with one point and a goal difference of 0.
Defending champions Netherlands, who are also the reigning Olympic champions, will have three points and a goal difference of +2—thanks to their win over Australia in the pool phase, while the Aussies themselves have zero points and a goal difference of -2.
For India, defeating the Netherlands, who are gunning for their fourth straight title, is going to be a herculean task. In fact, even a draw would be a stunning result, considering the dominance of the European side.
India would be hoping that even if they lose, the margin is very narrow. However, the game against Australia would be a must-win, which is definitely realistic.
Not many fancied the World Number #9 Indian side to have reached this stage in such fashion. The road is still tricky, but it is fair to say that a semi-final spot indeed does loom in the distance.
Which teams will India face in the second round of FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026?
India are in Pool E alongside China, Netherlands and Australia. Given that they have already played China in round 1, the Indian women’s hockey team will face Australia and Netherlands in the second round.
How can India reach the semi-finals of FIH Women’s hockey World Cup 2026?
India will need to finish in the top two of Pool E to qualify for the semi-finals. As things stand, India are third in the group after a match.
Who will India face next in the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026?
India will next play Netherlands in their second match on August 21 (Friday). The match is scheduled to begin at 9:30 pm IST
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Kartik Warrier, a B.Tech Mechanical Engineering student at IIT Madras, is an ardent sports enthusiast. Through Khel Now, he gets to pursue his passion by closely following Indian athletes in sports like cricket, football, badminton, hockey, and table tennis.