Overview
- The 2026 Hockey World Cup moved into its second group phase this weekend with new four-team pools that carry forward the head-to-head result from the first stage and require each team to play only two new matches.
- Las Leonas begin Group F with three carried points from a 3-2 win over Germany and face Spain on Saturday, August 22 and Belgium on Monday, August 24 as favorites to reach the semifinals.
- Los Leones start Group E with zero carried points because their loss to the Netherlands is carried over and must defeat England on Saturday, August 22 to keep realistic hopes of advancing when they meet India on Monday, August 24.
- Only the top two teams from each second-phase group advance to the semifinals while third and fourth places move into 5th–8th classification matches, making the two-match window decisive for teams without carried points.
- Matches are being played in Amstelveen and Wavre and the compressed schedule raises physical and tactical pressure on players, meaning recovery, substitutions and early results will likely decide who advances.