The Men’s Hockey World Cup is an international competition involving field hockey, held every four years. The event is organised by International Hockey Federation (FIH) and was first started in the year 1971.
Pakistan have won the Hockey World Cup four times and sit at the top with most trophies. Australia and Netherlands have a tie with their three trophy lead over Germany and India who have two and one titles to their names respectively.
The 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup
The 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup will be the 14th edition of the competition. It is scheduled to begin on 28 November and will run its course till 16 December 2018.
The Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India is the venue chosen for the 2018 Hockey World Cup. It is a multi-purpose stadium build for athletics, soccer, field hockey, basketball, tennis, table tennis basketball, volleyball, Wall climbing and swimming.
Format
A total of 16 teams qualify for the World Cup, with the teams divided into four different groups. The first placed team of each group makes it to the quarterfinals. However, the second and third placed teams head over to play crossover matches. The single elimination tournament begins after this stage.
Group Divisions
Pool A - Argentina, Spain, France and New Zealand
Pool B - Australia, England, Ireland and China
Pool C - India, Belgium, Canada and South Africa
Pool D - Netherlands, Germany, Malaysia and Pakistan
2014 World Cup
The 2014 World Cup was held at Kyocera Stadion in The Hague, Netherlands. The final was between home team Netherlands and defending champions Australia. However, the final was won by Australia after they defeated the home team 6-1 to win the trophy for the third time.
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