Amstelveen, August 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Indian women’s hockey team will look to end its FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 campaign on a high when it faces Germany in the fifth-sixth place classification match on Thursday, with a historic finish at stake.
Appearing at the World Cup for the ninth time, India have lost only once in five matches and have produced a strong campaign against several higher-ranked opponents. A victory over Germany would secure India’s best-ever World Cup finish since their fourth-place finish at the inaugural edition in 1974.
India have held Paris Olympics silver medallists China, England and Australia to draws and registered their biggest-ever World Cup win with a 6-1 demolition of South Africa.
Their only defeat came against defending champions the Netherlands, who were made to work hard before securing a 2-0 victory. India finished third in the second stage after a series of closely fought draws, narrowly missing out on a semi-final berth.
Germany, meanwhile, defeated Scotland and the USA in the opening pool stage before beating Spain in the second stage. Their loss to Belgium left them third in their pool and put them into the fifth-sixth place match.
India head coach Sjoerd Marijne said the team had made significant progress but remained determined to achieve more.
“The girls have already made history by securing the best ranking in a World Cup (since 1974), but we want more,” Marijne said. “It’s going to be a good match against Germany to show that we can do better than we did against Australia.”
India’s key challenge will be converting opportunities into goals. The team has created chances against some of the tournament’s strongest sides but has lacked the finishing touch in the attacking third.
The forwards will therefore be crucial, either by converting chances or winning penalty corners, which could create scoring opportunities for Deepika and Navneet Kaur.
At the other end, India have been well served by goalkeepers Savita and Bichu Devi Kharibam, while captain Salima Tete has strengthened the penalty-corner defence with her effective rushing blocks.
Marijne said the players’ disappointment after narrowly missing the semi-finals was a positive sign because it reflected their belief that they could achieve more.
A win over Germany would give Indian women’s hockey a new World Cup benchmark more than five decades after the historic 1974 campaign.
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