Day two of the FIH Hockey World Cup delivered plenty more action on Sunday, with significant wins, brave draws and spirited comeback efforts across the two venues in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Former champions Australia enjoyed a solid start to their World Cup campaign, beating Ireland’s men 3-1 in their tournament opener. Joel Rintala opened the scoring in the seventh minute when his penalty-corner strike hit the post before rebounding off the goalkeeper and into the net, and he doubled the lead with another PC in the second quarter. Blake Govers then made it 3-0 from yet another penalty corner, scoring the 167th international goal of his career. The three-time world champions’ intensity dropped off in the second half, and Alistair Empey managed to pull one back for the Irish, popping it in after a penalty corner save rebounded off goalkeeper Ash Thomas’ helmet. Ireland then applied plenty of late pressure with Thomas being repeatedly put to the test, but the Kookaburras held firm to secure the victory.
Australia’s Liam Henderson was named as Player of the Match and said afterwards: “It was good fun, good to get a first hit out, good win…”
Later in the day, the Dutch men survived an early scare to beat New Zealand 5-1. The Black Sticks stunned the Amsterdam crowd when James Hickson put them ahead in the 23rd minute, but the second half belonged to the Netherlands. Tjep Hoedemakers levelled with some one-touch magic in the 35th minute, before Duco Telgenkamp fired home a rebound after a penalty-corner save to put the hosts ahead in the 41st. Thierry Brinkman then tapped in the third eight minutes later, Hoedemakers grabbed his second just a minute after that, and Koen Bijen completed the rout from a penalty corner in the 52nd minute, sending a relieved Dutch crowd home happy.
New Zealand’s women stunned Belgium in a similar manner in their encounter in Wavre before the hosts rallied for a 5-2 win. The Kiwis took an early lead through a penalty-corner rebound in the fourth minute, but Stephanie Vanden Borre levelled five minutes later before Emma Puvrez put Belgium ahead in the 12th. Charlotte Englebert capitalised on a defensive error to make it 3-1 10 minutes later, before Hannah Cotter pulled one back for New Zealand with a reverse-stick strike on the counter in the 33rd minute. Justine Rasir then restored Belgium’s two-goal cushion from a messy penalty-corner rebound in the 41st, before adding her second six minutes later to seal the 5-2 win.
Puvrez was named Player of the Match and said: “It was wonderful. Already in the first seconds, the public was awesome. The people were great and we felt the support until the end… and I’m very happy we could take a win home with the team.”
England’s women recorded their first win in a World Cup opener since 2010 with a convincing 4-0 victory over South Africa. Despite a strong start from the African champions, England took control early, with goals from Darcy Bourne and Tessa Howard. Elizabeth Neal added a third from another penalty corner just 24 seconds before half-time, before Sophie Hamilton completed the scoring in the third quarter with a powerful reverse-stick finish from a lovely team build-up.
Meanwhile, India and China’s women played out another World Cup thriller as the sides shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw. Navneet Kaur gave India the lead in the eighth minute, but Zhang Ying levelled from a penalty stroke just eight seconds before the first break. Deepika restored India’s advantage in the 25th minute with a penalty corner that took a vicious deflection off a Chinese defender, but Ma Ning’s expertly executed penalty corner in the 39th minute earned China a draw and a share of the points – the same result as the World Cup pool encounter between the same sides four years ago.
Spain’s men made a fast start and held off a spirited South African comeback to claim a 3-1 win. Two first-quarter goals less than a minute apart, from Marc Reyne and José Basterra, put South Africa on the back foot early. Basterra added his second shortly before half-time to put Spain firmly in control. The South Africans responded with a stronger third quarter, finally breaking through when Mustapha Cassiem rocketed a penalty corner into the top-left corner. Despite sustained pressure, the Red Sticks' defence held on to secure the victory.
In other action, the keepers at both ends were brought into action in the opening quarter of the clash between Argentina and Japan’s men. The Argentinians broke the deadlock in the second quarter with Nicolas Keenan setting up Joaquin Toscani to provide the finish from close-range to take his team 1-0 up in the 22nd minute. That lead was doubled by Lucio Mendez after some scrappy play in the 54th minute. Maico Casella then helped Martin Ferreiro’s mis-hit shot over the line for their third goal four minutes later to wrap up a somewhat flattering 3-0 win after a brave effort from Japan that was just lacking the finishing touch.
In the final match of the day, Spain’s women had two first-half goals disallowed against Ireland but still managed to take a 1-0 lead into the break, thanks to some excellent skill from Laia Vidosa to score in the 23rd minute. Hannah McLoughlin then provided the equaliser for Ireland off a penalty corner deflection in the 36th. Both teams scored from penalty corners in the third quarter, keeping matters level heading into the final period. But Spain’s captain Xantal Gine stepped up with five minutes to go, firing in the winner for her side off another penalty corner.
16 August 2026 Results
Women
Result: Match 5 (W)
England 4 - 0 South Africa (Pool D)
Player of the match: Tessa Howard (ENG)
Umpires: Rawi Anbananthan (MAS), Ayanna McClean (TTO), Irene Presenqui (ARG-video)
Result: Match 6 (W)
China 2- 2 India (Pool D)
Player of the match: Li Hong (CHN)
Umpires: Alison Keogh (AUS), Annelize Rostron (RSA), Amber Church (NZL-video)
Result: Match 7 (W)
Belgium 5 - 2 New Zealand (Pool C)
Player of the match: Emma Puvrez (BEL)
Umpires: Victoria Pazos (PAR), Coen van Bunge (NED), Wanri Venter (RSA-video)
Result: Match 8 (W)
Spain 3 - 2 Ireland (Pool C)
Player of the match: Estel Petchame (ARG)
Umpires: Hanna Harrison (ENG), Aleisha Neumann (AUS), Hyosik You (KOR-video)
Men
Result: Match 5 (M)
Australia 3 - 1 Ireland (Pool C)
Player of the match: Liam Henderson (AUS)
Umpires: Gareth Greenfield (NZL), Rachel Williams (ENG), Dan Barstow (ENG-video)
Result: Match 6 (M)
Spain 3 - 1 South Africa (Pool C)
Player of the match: José Basterra (ESP)
Umpires: Hong-Zhen Lim (SGP), David Tomlinson (NZL), Tyler Klenk (CAN-video)
Result: Match 7 (M)
Netherlands 5 - 1 New Zealand (Pool A)
Player of the match: Floris Middendorp (NED)
Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL), Steve Rogers (AUS), Sean Rapaport (RSA-video)
Result: Match 8 (M)
Argentina 3 - 0 Japan (Pool A)
Player of the match: Tomas Domene (ARG)
Umpires: Sean Edwards (ENG), Ben Goentgen (ENG), Zeke Newman (AUS-video)
