As we count down to the highly anticipated FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026, we take a closer look at the competing men's and women's teams ready to battle for global supremacy. In this special preview series, we profile each nation's journey to the tournament, examining their road to qualification, historic achievements, key players to watch, and the tactical minds leading them into the ultimate hockey showcase. In today’s story we take a look at New Zealand men’s team, ranked #11 in the world.

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New Zealand are preparing to compete at their 12th FIH Hockey Men's World Cup, with the 2026 tournament marking their eighth successive appearance. Their best finish remains seventh place, a feat they have achieved on five occasions, most recently at Bhubaneswar & Rourkela 2023.

New Zealand – who qualified for this event with a second-place finish at the Oceania Cup 2025 – were in action at June’s FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. Having lifted the trophy in both 2023-24 (Gniezno, Poland) and 2024-25 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), they arrived with hopes of completing a hat-trick of titles. They swept through the pool stage with four consecutive victories, edging Scotland 1-0 before producing convincing wins over Korea (6-2), Malaysia (5-1) and Japan (5-2).

Their bid for a third successive title ended in dramatic fashion, with hosts South Africa prevailing in a shoot-out after a 2-2 semi-final draw. However, the Black Sticks responded by defeating Japan 3-1 to claim the bronze medal, with late goals from Jonty Elmes and James Hickson sealing victory. Penalty-corner specialist Kane Russell finished as New Zealand's leading scorer with seven goals, while Dylan Thomas and Scott Boyde added four and three respectively.

The squad that travelled to South Africa also featured five players with more than 100 caps: Kane Russell (224), Nic Woods (194), Dane Lett (157), captain Sam Lane (133) and Aiden Sarikaya (103).

Nickname: Black Sticks

How they qualified: 2nd place – 2025 Men’s Oceania Cup, Darwin (AUS)

Notable honours: Olympic gold medallists (1976), 2x FIH Hockey Nations Cup gold medallists (2023-24, 2024-25), FIH Hockey Nations Cup bronze medallists (2025-26), 2x Commonwealth Games silver medallists (2002, 2018), Hockey World League silver medallists (2012-14 edition), Champions Challenge gold medallists (2009), 13x Oceania Cup silver medallists (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025), 2x Sultan Azlan Shah Cup winners (2012, 2015),

Rank in previous WC editions: 1973 – 7th, 1975 – 7th, 1982 – 7th, 1986 – 9th, 1998 – 10th, 2002 – 9th, 2006 – 8th, 2010 – 9th, 2014 – 7th, 2018 – 9th, 2023 – 7th.

Head coach: Greg Nicol. Appointed in June 2022, the former South Africa international striker represented his country at the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004, as well as the 2002 FIH Hockey Men's World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He will now look to build on New Zealand's impressive seventh-place finish at Bhubaneswar & Rourkela 2023. Under Nicol, the Black Sticks also won back-to-back FIH Hockey Nations Cup titles in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Quote: Captain, Sam Lane: “In terms of the games you want to play in, opening against the Dutch at home in our first World Cup match gets the adrenaline going just thinking about it. They’re a passionate crowd and love to be entertained. I remember watching the 2014 World Cup match against the Dutch and hoping one day I’d get to experience that.”

One to watch: Kane Russell. A mainstay of the New Zealand defence for more than a decade, penalty-corner specialist Kane Russell has over 220 international caps and scored more than 100 goals. Renowned for his powerful drag flick, he is also capable of launching dangerous counter-attacks with his exceptional aerial pass.

FIH team / stats page: click here.

Hockey New Zealand website: www.hockeynz.co.nz

X: @BlackSticks Facebook: @HockeyNZ Instagram: nzblacksticks

The FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 begins on 15 August, with both men’s and women’s teams in action on opening day across the Netherlands and Belgium. For more information on the competition including the competition format, pools and the complete match schedule, click here.