Argentina’s path to the World Cup
The Argentina men’s team, known as Los Leones, will participate in their 15th FIH Hockey World Cup. They secured their spot by finishing first in the Pan American Cup 2025 held in Montevideo, Uruguay. During this tournament, Argentina demonstrated strong form, scoring 47 goals and conceding only one across five victories.
Tomas Domene was a key player in their Pan American Cup success, earning both the Player of the Tournament and Top Scorer awards with 13 goals. His goals included seven from open play and six penalty corners. Defender Nicolas Della Torre also contributed significantly with 10 goals in the tournament.
The team’s qualification follows a mid-table finish in the FIH Hockey Pro League, where they achieved notable victories. These included wins against the Netherlands, Pakistan (twice), and Australia. They also recorded two away wins against India at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.
Key players and coaching staff
The squad features several prominent players. Tomas Domene, the leading scorer in the 2025-26 FIH Hockey Pro League, is considered a significant threat from both open play and penalty corners. He is expected to be among the contenders for the tournament’s top scorer title.
Defender Nicolas Della Torre and goalkeeper Tomas Santiago were both shortlisted for the 2025 FIH Hockey Stars Awards. Della Torre was nominated for Player of the Year, while Santiago was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year.
The team is captained by Matias Rey, a Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist. The 41-year-old defender-midfielder has made over 325 international appearances and is set to compete in his sixth FIH Hockey World Cup.
Lucas Rey, Matias’s elder brother and also a member of the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning squad, serves as the head coach. In his first year in charge, he guided the team to a sixth-place finish in the Pro League before leading them to the Pan American Cup title and subsequent World Cup qualification.
Tournament format and team preparation
The FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026, scheduled from August 15 to 30, introduces a new competition format. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments will feature 16 teams, divided into four pools in the initial phase. Unlike previous editions, there will be no quarter-final stage.
The tournament begins with a pool stage from August 15–20, where teams play three matches within their respective pools. Following this, from August 21–24, teams will be re-grouped into four new crossover pools based on their initial standings. Results from matches between progressing teams in Phase 1 will carry forward to Phase 2.
The top two teams from Pools E and F in the crossover stage will directly advance to the semi-finals, which are scheduled for August 27–28. Classification matches for positions 5th to 16th will also take place during this period. The men’s bronze medal match and final will conclude in Belgium on August 30.
Coach Lucas Rey expressed satisfaction with the team’s preparation, stating that they focused on developing technical, tactical, physical, and emotional aspects of the game after the Pro League. He believes that integrating these elements and working on fine details will provide an advantage.
Source: fih.hockey
