Nickname: The Red Sticks

How they qualified: 5th Place – 2021 Men’s EuroHockey Championship

Notable honours: 3x Olympic silver medallists (1980, 1996, 2008), 2x FIH Men’s World Cup silver medallists (1971, 1998), 2x European champions (1974, 2005), European silver medallists (2003, 2007, 2019), FIH Champions Trophy winners (2004), FIH Champions Challenge 1 winners (2003).

Rank in previous WC editions: 1971 – 2nd, 1973 – 5th, 1975 – 8th, 1978 – 5th, 1982 – 11th, 1986 – 5th, 1990 – 8th, 1994 – 9th, 1998 – 2nd, 2002 – 11th, 2006 – 3rd, 2010 – 5th, 2014 – 8th, 2018 – 13th.

Known for their flair, skill, and attacking prowess, the Red Sticks men are one of the most talented and unpredictable teams out there, having proven on countless occasions that, on their day, they can mix it with the very best teams in the world. As well as having rare talents such as electrifying attacker Enrique Gonzalez, classy captain Marc Miralles and experienced midfielder Alvaro Iglesias, they are also blessed with a revered head coach in Max Caldas, who enjoyed terrific success with the Netherlands women and men, guiding the former to World Cup and Olympic glory and the latter to two European Championship titles.

In August 2022, the Red Sticks showed strong form at the recent EuroHockey Championship Qualifier competition on home soil in Orense, beating Czech Republic, Portugal, and Poland to seal their ticket to the 2023 EuroHockey Championship. The team scored 20 times without conceding in that competition, with Pau Cunill (Rising Star nominee – FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2021-22), Iglesias and former Argentina international and 2016 Olympic gold medallist Joaquin Menini each scoring three times.

They followed that success with a superb start to their 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League campaign by going unbeaten in their first four games, claiming notable victories over New Zealand and Pool C rivals India in matched that took place in the World Cup host city of Bhubaneswar.

One to watch: Marc Miralles. A classy midfielder who has fully embraced his role as team captain, 24-year-old Miralles is likely to be a cornerstone of the Red Sticks set-up for many years to come.