Spain’s women brought an end to Belgium’s unbeaten run in this season’s FIH Hockey Pro League with a gutsy 1-0 victory in front of a home crowd in Valencia on Sunday.

The Netherlands were made to work hard for their victory over the Spanish men, while over in China, the Dutch women ran rampant over their hosts, claiming a 6-1 win.

(Men’s) Spain 2 – 3 Netherlands

Justen Blok celebrated his 100th cap for the Netherlands with a difficult 3-2 win over hosts Spain.

The Spaniards had a couple of half chances in the opening exchanges, and Maurits Visser had to make one sharp glove save to keep them out. The momentum then swung and Rafa Revilla needed to make a couple of interventions in goal for Spain. The Dutch struck hard in the second quarter, Pepijn van der Heijden nailing his 24th-minute drag flick, and Duco Telgenkamp adding a tap-in from a fast counterattack just a minute later. Spain then had a clear chance in the dying seconds of the half, but Blok reacted quickly to close down the shot and retain the Netherlands’ 2-0 lead at the break.

The Red Sticks played an excellent third quarter, creating an early shot and enjoying some flowing attacks. They were rewarded in the 36th minute when José Basterra had the easiest of tap-ins from open play. Basterra was creating all kinds of problems for the Dutch and he was involved in the second goal three minutes later as Spain worked the ball into the circle well. His initial shot was saved, but the rebound fell to Ignacio Abajo, who slapped hard into the roof of the net. Play opened up in the final period with both teams finding some space to attack. The Dutch served up a moment of brilliance in the 58th minute just as the game seemed destined for a shootout. Terence Peters won the ball in his own circle and carried it 70m, then slipped a pass to Telgenkamp, who bulleted his reverse shot over Revilla’s helmet into the roof of the net.

The player of the match was awarded to Duco Telgenkamp of the Netherlands who said: “I think we had the right fighting spirit today, we played hard, pressed well, I think that gave us the win at the end… It was a tough match but a beautiful match.”

(Women’s) Spain 1 – 0 Belgium

Hosts Spain made the most of their limited opportunities to end Belgium’s unbeaten run in the competition so far with an extraordinary 1-0 win.

A goalless first quarter saw structured play from Belgium yield better chances than the breakout play of Spain, with Maïté Bussels making some important saves in goal for the hosts. Famke Van Heel missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring for the Belgians in the second quarter, receiving the ball on a brilliant leading run across the goalmouth only to nudge it wide of an empty box. Belgium then struck the post from a penalty corner, and Alix Gerniers had her shot blocked from open play a minute later. Spain snatched the lead against the run of play just before half time when Patricia Alvarez blazed her tomahawk shot across goal where Sofia Rogoski steered it in at the far post.

Belgium continued to dominate play in the third quarter, taking their penalty corner tally to 10 without reward. Emma Perez came closest when she struck the crossbar from a variation back to the pusher, and Stephanie Vanden Borre saw her low drag flick saved well by the diving Clara Perez. Spain won several vital contests in the final quarter to relieve some pressure, best demonstrated by Constanza Amundson covering huge ground to block Charlotte Englebert’s 53rd-minute shot from what looked like acres of space. The Red Panthers pushed all the way to the final whistle, but Spain simply would not concede, much to the delight of a buzzing home crowd.

Spain’s Patricia Alvarez was named the player of the match and said: “In the end we believed in the work, in the team’s perseverance. We knew that by trusting the plan and sticking together, we would get the points. And that’s how it turned out, so I’m really happy for the team.”

(Women’s) China 1 – 6 Netherlands

Zhang Ying earned her 100th cap for China on a difficult day as the Netherlands brought the heat in the second half in a convincing 6-1 win over the hosts.

The Dutch took the lead in the 8th minute, Sanne Koolen threading a devastating pass to Felice Albers who banged it in easily. Frédérique Matla doubled the lead in the 13th, cleaning up the rebound after a blistering baseline run by Xan de Waard. China had a much better second quarter, creating a couple of dangerous circle entries and a penalty corner as the Dutch turned over possession a bit cheaply. The Netherlands held a 2-0 lead at half time.

Goalkeeper Liu Ping got her angles right for China to deny Luna Fokke in the opening seconds of the third quarter. The Dutch were on the charge though and Marijn Veen’s reverse strike found a way through to goal between the keeper’s feet. The Chinese finished the quarter on the attack, but an exceptional save from goalkeeper Josine Koning nudged the drag flick wide, and she covered her near post well to deny Ma Ning shortly thereafter. Yibbi Jansen added a drag flick in the 47th minute, and Veen tapped in for her brace to complete a wonderful team goal after China completely missed their stop from a PC at the other end. Felice Albers then completed her brace in the 56th before Feng Qingmiao grabbed a late consolation goal for China on her debut. The win takes the Dutch to the top of the table on goal difference.

Felice Albers received the player of the match for the Netherlands and said: “I think it was a great game for our side, scored six nice goals and happy with the win, and proud of our team performance.”

Current Hero Top Scorers:

Women – Yibbi Jansen (NED) (7 goals)

Men – Alexander Hendrickx (BEL), Tom Boon (BEL), Tomas Domene (ARG), Tijmen Reyenga (NED), Thierry Brinkman (NED), Duco Telgenkamp (NED) (4 goals)

To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.

FIH Hockey Pro League – 8 February 2026

Estadio Betero, Valencia (ESP)

Men

Result: Match 16 (M)

Spain 2 - 3 Netherlands

Player of the match: Duco Telgenkamp (NED)

Umpires: Wanri Venter (RSA), Alex Miles (CAN), Sarah Wilson (SCO-video)

Women

Result: Match 19 (W)

Spain 1 - 0 Belgium

Player of the match: Patricia Alvarez (ESP)

Umpires: Allison Mikelson (USA), Victoria Pazos (PAR), Ahmed Elsayed (EGY-video)

Yunfu Education Park Hockey Field (CHN)

Women

Result: Match 20 (W)

China 1 - 6 Netherlands

Player of the match: Felice Albers (NED)

Umpires: Deepak Joshi (IND), Ana Ortega (ESP), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN-video)