The countdown is on! With less than 48 hours left until the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup South Africa 2025-26, here’s what the teams had to say:

Malaysia - Brendon Carolan, Head Coach

“We’ve prepared well and the group is in a good place to come into this one. We know the quality across the field, but our focus is on us. The objective is simple: go as deep into this tournament as we can.”

France - John-John Dohmen, Head Coach

“The team is young but very talented. We had a lot of players involved with their club until the end of May, so they could play and train at a high level until now. This tournament arrives too soon after the club competition but is very important for us in our team development. We expect to play at a very high level of hockey and show the world we have the level and desire to compete in Pro League!”

South Africa - Dayaan Cassiem, Captain

“The expectation we have from ourselves is to take it game-by-game. We have a tough pool with Ireland, France and the US, which is also a good test ahead of the World Cup to see where we are. We are a young team with very different style of players, and it is really exciting to see how it comes together, especially in front of our fantastic home crowd in Cape Town.”

New Zealand - Shea McAleese, Assistant Coach

“While we’ve stepped away from the Pro League, it doesn’t change our ambition as a group. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved over the past two years, and we’re heading to Cape Town with a real desire to go again and push for a third straight title.

The Nations Cup is a high-quality tournament with strong opposition, and it gives us a great opportunity to test ourselves, build combinations, and keep progressing as a team leading into the World Cup in August.”

Ireland – Lee Cole, co-Captain

“We’re expecting a really tough tournament. With France, USA and South Africa, we’re in a tough group so there will be no easy games. So, we expect this event to be close. Glad to be back in South Africa.”

USA - Aki Kaeppeler, co-Captain

“We’re really excited, looking forward to getting started. We’re obviously the lowest-rankedteam here. We don’t play this kind of opposition that often, so we’ll just see. How can we keep up, what can we learn from these nations, and can we get a win against a couple of them? Learning and growing is the biggest thing for us. Experience and exposure are what our group needs.”

Japan - Raiki Fujishima, Captain

“Our goal is to win this tournament to get a chance to join the FIH Hockey Pro League. We had a domestic camp before reaching Cape Town. We’re enjoying the atmosphere here, and the nature is spectacular.”

Korea - Yang Jihun, Captain

“We finished fourth in last year’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup and our first goal this time is to go to the semifinals.”

Scotland - Robert Field, Captain

“Last year, we won Nations Cup 2, therefore were promoted to the Nations Cup. It’s nice to play againt some teams that are ranked around or above us. We’re aiming high.It’s a beautiful area here.”

For more details about the FIH Hockey Men's Nations Cup South Africa 2025-26, click here.