New Delhi [India], January 23 (ANI): The schedule for the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 qualifiers was unveiled, with India set to host matches in Hyderabad from March 8 to 14 and the Indian women's team being in action against Uruguay (March 8) and Scotland (March 9), announced the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

The matches for the qualifiers will start from February 28 onwards and be played in Chile (February 28 to March 8, Santiago), Egypt (March 1 to 7, Ismailia), and India (March 8 to 14, Hyderabad), according to a statement from FIH issued on Thursday.

In Santiago, the women's World Cup qualifiers will feature Australia, Japan, Ireland, Chile, France, Canada, Malaysia, and Switzerland, while France, Ireland, Korea, Wales, Scotland, Canada, Poland, and Chile will battle for a spot in the men's marquee tournament.

Shifting focus to Hyderabad, where the women's World Cup qualifiers will take place, the teams eyeing spots in the World Cup would be England, India, Scotland, Korea, Italy, Uruguay, Wales and Austria.

Team India, which secured a silver medal in the women's Asia Cup held at home last year, will have to play the qualifiers as they could not win the tournament to achieve a direct qualification to the World Cup. China secured the direct spot in the women's WC, beating India 4-1 in the final.

Egypt will witness the host nation battling for a Men's Hockey World Cup spot with England, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, Austria, China and the USA.

The Qualifiers represent the final stage of qualification for this year's FIH Hockey World Cup, which will be hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands (15-30 August 2026) for both men's and women's. Both men's and women's competitions will witness 16 teams each in action.

Seven teams per gender will qualify through these events, which promise to be among the highlights of the FIH calendar next year. The teams finishing first, second, and third in each tournament will secure their place at next year's FIH flagship event. The highest world-ranked team among those finishing in fourth place in each event will be the seventh team to qualify.

The teams qualifying through these tournaments will join an impressive line-up of 18 teams (nine per gender) that have already qualified, either through the FIH Hockey Pro League, the Continental Championships, or as hosts. (ANI)