India eye FIH Women’s Qualifiers title after sealing World Cup qualification

Having already secured qualification for the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026, the Indian field hockey team will now turn their focus to lifting the title when they take on Italy in the semi-final of the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026 in Hyderabad on Friday.

India finished top of Pool B with seven points from three matches, edging past Scotland on goal difference after both teams ended with the same number of points. The hosts registered two wins and one draw during the group stage.

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The Indian side began their campaign with a commanding 4–0 victory over Uruguay, followed by a 2–2 draw against Scotland in their second match. They then concluded the pool stage with a convincing 4–1 win against Wales, maintaining strong momentum heading into the knockout rounds.

With their performances in the group stage, India confirmed their qualification for the 2026 World Cup through the tournament rule that awards a berth to the highest-ranked team finishing fourth across the two qualifying events.

The Santiago leg of the qualifiers had concluded earlier, where Chile, Australia and Ireland secured the three direct qualification spots. Japan, ranked No. 15 in the world, finished fourth in that event.

With India currently ranked ninth in the world, they have ensured that they will finish as the highest-ranked fourth-placed team across both tournaments, thereby confirming their ticket to the World Cup.

With qualification secured, the hosts will now aim to maintain their momentum and book a place in the final when they face Italy, who finished second in Pool A with four points, recording one win, one draw and one loss.

India will also look to build on the impressive form of forward Navneet Kaur, who is currently the joint top scorer of the tournament with four goals. She delivered a standout performance in the final pool match against Wales, scoring a hat-trick to cap off the group stage.

Italy, meanwhile, will rely on Federica Carta, who has been their main attacking threat and has scored three goals in the competition so far.

In head-to-head encounters since 2012, India and Italy have met seven times, with India winning five matches, Italy registering one victory, and one match ending in a draw, giving the hosts a slight psychological edge ahead of the semi-final.

Speaking ahead of the match, India’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said:

“Securing qualification for the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup 2026 is an important milestone for this group, and the players deserve a lot of credit for the way they have performed so far in the tournament. They have shown good discipline, composure and attacking intent throughout the pool stage.”

“At the same time, our mindset is very clear — we are not here just to qualify. We want to keep improving with every match and aim to win the tournament. The semi-final is another big challenge and we will approach it with full focus and intensity.”

“Italy are a competitive side and they have shown in this tournament that they can trouble strong teams. For us, the focus will be on executing our plans well, maintaining our structure, and continuing to play with the same energy and confidence.”