The upcoming FIH men’s and women’s World Cups in the Netherlands and Belgium will feature a revamped structure with no quarterfinals, making pool-stage results vital for progression.
The upcoming FIH men’s and women’s World Cups in the Netherlands and Belgium will feature a drastic change in format, presenting teams with a challenging route to the final. While 16 teams will remain divided into four pools of four, the quarterfinal stage used in the 2018 and 2022/2023 editions has been eliminated.
Under the new structure, only the top two teams from each pool will advance to a second stage, which will consist of two groups of four. From there, the top two teams in each second-stage group will qualify for the semifinals. Crucially, the head-to-head result between the two teams advancing from the same pool will carry forward into the second stage.
In the tournament draw, the Indian men’s team has been placed in Pool D alongside England, Pakistan, and Wales. If India or another Pool D team advances, they will be paired with the top two teams from Pool A in the second stage. Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team will compete in Pool D against China, England, and South Africa.
Indian men’s team head coach Craig Fulton highlighted the importance of early momentum under the new rules. "The format has obviously changed drastically — from having quarterfinals to not having them. So the emphasis on the pool games is really, really important, because it’s obviously the top two that will go through. And the head-to-head result between those two teams matters: if one beats the other, those three points carry into the next round, and that puts you in the driving seat to get out of the next group and into the semifinals," Fulton said.
Expressing a different perspective, Indian women’s team head coach Sjoerd Marijne noted that while higher-ranked teams might prefer the setup, it removes a key element of drama. "It’s an interesting schedule, but my preference is to have quarterfinals in a tournament format. The higher-ranked teams will prefer this, but I think quarterfinals are among the most exciting matches," Marijne said.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Hockey. Photo courtesy The Hindu Hockey.