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2 min readMar 14, 2026 07:47 PM IST
Scotland clinched the third and final spot at World Cup 2026 after clinching bronze with 1-0 win against Italy at the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026 in Hyderabad on Saturday. It was a hard-fought win in the 3rd/4th place match held at the G. M. C. Balayogi Hockey Ground, ahead of India’s final against England. Amy Costello scored the only goal of the game.
Three spots were available at each of the two Qualifiers that were held in Chile earlier this month and this event in Hyderabad. The seventh and last spot would go to the best 4th placed team across the two events as per the FIH World Rankings as of midnight on Sunday. While Chile, Australia and Ireland won the three automatic spots from the earlier event, Japan had finished fourth. In Hyderabad, India and England sealed their places by winning the semifinals on Friday and now Italy have finished fourth.
With Japan ranked world No 15 and Italy at World No 19, the seventh and final spot would be granted to Japan.
The Women’s Hockey World Cup will be held at Wagener Stadium in Wavre (Belgium) and Stade Justin Peeters in Amstelveen (Netherlands) from August 14 to August 30 this year. It will held simultaneously with the men’s event, also featuring 16 teams. Indian men’s hockey team had reached the tournament by winning Asia Cup last year.
Here are the 16 teams that have now officially qualified for the 2026 World Cup to be held in Belgium and Netherlands
Host quotas: Belgium, Netherlands
Pro League quotas: 2023-’24 winners Germany and 2024-’25 winners Argentina
Pan American Cup quota: United States
EuroHockey Championship quota: Spain
Oceania Cup quota: New Zealand
Asia Cup quota: China
Africa Cup of Nations quota: South Africa
World Cup Qualifiers quotas (Chile): Chile, Australia, Ireland
World Cup Qualifiers quotas (Hyderabad): India, England, Scotland
World Rankings quota: Japan
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