One of hockey’s fiercest rivalries will be renewed when India and Pakistan face-off in the upcoming 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup.
The South Asian neighbours, who share a history of conflict and partition, are in the same group in the men’s edition of the World Cup, which begins on Saturday.
The FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 will be jointly held in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, The Netherlands, from August 15 to 30.
Both the men’s and women’s editions will feature 16 teams each, divided into four pools.
Germany are the defending men’s world champions from 2023, while the Netherlands are the women’s title holders from 2022.
Men’s pools
Pool A: Argentina, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand
Pool B: Belgium, France, Germany, Malaysia
Pool C: Australia, Spain, Ireland, South Africa
Pool D: England, India, Pakistan, Wales
Women’s pools
Pool A: Australia, Chile, Japan, Netherlands
Pool B: Argentina, Germany, Scotland, United States
Pool C: Belgium, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand
Pool D: China, England, India, South Africa
India’s men’s hockey team will face Pakistan in a Pool D match on 19 August.
The match will be held at Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, The Netherlands, and starts at 15:00 local time (6:30pm in India and 6pm in Pakistan).