Countries with most wins in history of Men's Hockey World Cup

One of the teams on the list has not qualified for the 2023 edition of the quadrennial megaevent.

The 15th edition of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup is set to begin from 13th January to 29th January 2023 in Odisha, India. A total of 16 teams are set to participate in the mega event with two countries set to make their debut (Chile and Wales). In this article, let's discuss the teams that have won the most matches in the 14 editions of the World Cup.

Germany - 34 wins

From 1971 to 1990 West Germany was taking part in the World Cup and since the 1994 edition, Germany has taken part consistently. In this article, the stats are considered only from the 1994 edition. Germany has been a dominant side in the late 1990s and 2000s and progressed to the finals in three consecutive editions winning twice. Most of their wins have come in that period with the recent performances not satisfactory compared to their previous form.

Argentina - 36 wins

Except for the 1998 edition, Argentina has taken part in all the other editions of the Men's Hockey World Cup. None of their performance has been consistent apart from winning the bronze medal at the 2014 edition. Apart from their bronze medal finish, they have not stood in the top five in any of the world cups.

India - 44 wins

India is one of the few countries to have participated in all the Men's Hockey World Cups. But still is not inside the top five (overall in the number of wins across World Cups). India in the first three editions finished only in the podium places and won the World Cup in 1975 but since then has never finished inside the podium places. The reason in the initial stages during the 1980s is due to the introduction of astroturfs which the Indians weren't used to. The team is progressing well and recently won the bronze at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Spain - 46 wins

Spain, like India, is one of the teams to have participated in the Men's Hockey World Cup. In the inaugural edition as hosts, Spain finished second losing to Pakistan and overall has finished second (twice) and third (once). They had a poor world cup in 2018 finishing 13th which is one of the most disappointing finishes among all the editions.

England - 46 wins

England has been one of the most consistent sides having finished in the sixth spot four times and in the fourth spot (thrice). The team from England finished runners-up in the 1986 edition which is the best to date. In the last four editions (2010, 2014, 2018, and 2023) they lost in the bronze medal bouts and finished fourth (2023 - 5th)

Pakistan - 51 wins

Pakistan was one of the most dominant sides and the most successful team as well winning the title four times but they are nowhere near their best right now. From being the world's dominant side they aren't even able to qualify for the World Cup (2014 and 2023). They finished 12th in the last two editions they participated in (2010 and 2018).

Netherlands - 61 wins

The Netherlands has won the titles thrice (1973,1990, and 1998), and finished runner-up four times (they finished second in the last two editions 2014 and 2018 losing to Belgium and Australia). They will look to get past the last hurdle in the 2023 edition of the Men's Hokey World Cup.

Australia - 69 wins

Apart from not qualifying in the 1973 edition Australia has played in all other Men's Hockey World Cups and is the most dominant side as well. In the last 11 editions, they have finished in the podium places in ten editions and finished fourth in 1998 the only time when they couldn't finish inside the top three.