2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup: Players involved, schedule and how to watch the live action 

This Friday (13 January) the Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup begins in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela with 16 teams competing against each other for one of the most coveted prizes in hockey.

2018 world champions Belgium return with the aim of defending their title, having also won the Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020. They have been pooled in Group B where they will face Germany, Republic of Korea and Japan.

Australia, the beaten finalists in 2018, will be looking to win their fourth World Cup title, which would bring them level with Pakistan for most tournament wins in history. Having recently secured their seventh Commonwealth Games gold medal with victory in Birmingham in 2022 they take part in Group A along with Argentina, France and South Africa.

Another team with three World Cup victories to their name, with the last coming in 1998, are the Netherlands, who sit in Group C alongside New Zealand, Malaysia and Chile.

Group D sees India drawn against England, Spain and Wales, with the tournament hosts hoping to perform better than their quarterfinal loss to the Netherlands in the 2018 edition and England aiming to make a first final since 1986 where they lost 2-1 to Australia.

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• Everything to know about England at the 2023 Hockey World Cup

Where will the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup take place?

This is the second time in a row the Hockey World Cup will take place in India, with the cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela hosting all the matches from the group stages through to the final.

Games will be shared between the 16,000-capacity Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the 21,000-capacity Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, with the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final all taking place in the Kalinga Stadium.

Groups for the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup

• Group A: Australia, Argentina, France, South Africa

• Group B: Belgium, Germany, South Korea, Japan

• Group C: Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile

• Group D: India, England, Spain, Wales

Stars to watch at the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup

Defending champions Belgium are aiming to become only the fourth team to win consecutive World Cup titles. In order to do that, they will rely on the skills and experience of veterans such as John-John Dohmen. With 436 international caps, Dohmen is the most experienced player in the tournament and his record shows exactly why he’s still on the team list. One World Cup gold (2018), one Olympic gold (Tokyo 2020) and an Olympic silver (Rio 2016) make him one of the most decorated players in the sport, and he will once again be one to watch at this latest edition of the World Cup in India.

Another man who has turned out for his team for over 400 games is Australia captain Eddie Ockenden with the Tasmanian defender hoping that this will be the year he wins his third World Cup trophy following victories in 2010 and 2014. Ockenden has 72 international goals to his name and at 35 still has his eyes on Paris 2024. In 2022 he won his fourth Commonwealth Games title, a tournament in which he has never lost a game.

Hosts India can count on the considerable talent of current FIH Player of the Year Harmanpreet Singh as they seek to win the World Cup on home soil. Singh, who captains the side, will be the stalwart of a strong defensive line while also posing a dangerous goal threat having scored over 100 for his country. He will be aiming to repeat or better India’s result at Tokyo 2020 where they finished the tournament with the bronze medal.

2018 finalists the Netherlands will be aiming to bounce back from the heartache of the last World Cup final where they lost on penalties against Belgium. The 2021 EuroHockey champions will rely on the talents of forward Thierry Brinkman in their quest to win this year’s tournament.

England have never lifted the World Cup in their history, but if they are to do so this year much of the burden will lie on the shoulders of Sam Ward. In November 2019, the forward suffered a horror eye injury in a match against Malaysia that left him partially blind. Since then, his comeback has been nothing short of remarkable. With 62 goals from just 84 appearances for England, Ward is a prolific scorer with the ability to cause trouble for any defence in the tournament.

2023 FIH Hockey World Cup schedule

All times Indian Standard Time (CET +4.5)

January 13

• Argentina v South Africa, Bhubaneswar, 1:00pm

• Australia v France, Bhubaneswar, 3:00pm

• England v Wales, Rourkela, 5:00pm

• India v Spain, Rourkela, 7:00pm

January 14

• New Zealand v Chile, Rourkela, 1:00pm

• Netherlands v Malaysia, Rourkela, 3:00pm

• Belgium v Korea, Bhubaneswar, 5:00pm

• Germany v Japan, Bhubaneswar, 7:00pm

January 15

• Spain v Wales, Rourkela, 5:00pm

• England v India, Rourkela at 7:00pm

January 16

• Malaysia v Chile, Rourkela, 1:00pm

• New Zealand v Netherlands, Rourkela, 3:00pm

• France v South Africa, Bhubaneswar, 5:00pm

• Argentina v Australia, Bhubaneswar, 7:00pm

January 17

• Korea v Japan, Bhubaneswar, 5:00pm

• Germany v Belgium, Bhubaneswar, 7:00pm

January 19

• Malaysia v New Zealand, Bhubaneswar, 1:00pm

• The Netherlands v Chile, Bhubaneswar, 3:00pm

• Spain v England, Bhubaneswar, 5:00pm

• India v Wales, Bhubaneswar, 7:00pm

January 20

• Australia v South Africa, Rourkela, 1:00pm

• France v Argentina, Rourkela, 3:00pm

• Belgium v Japan, Rourkela, 5:00pm

• Korea v Germany, Rourkela, 7:00pm

January 24

• Quarterfinal 1, Bhubaneswar, 4:30pm

• Quarterfinal 2, Bhubaneswar, 7:00pm

January 25

• Quarterfinal 2, Bhubaneswar, 4:30pm

• Quarterfinal 4, Bhubaneswar, 7pm

January 26

• 9th to 16th place classification

January 27

• Semifinal 1, Bhubaneswar, 4:30pm

• Semifinal 2, Bhubaneswar, 7pm

January 29

• Bronze medal match, 4:30pm

• Final, 7pm

How to watch the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup

• England, Scotland, Northern Ireland: BT Sport
• Wales: Watch.Hockey
• India: Star Sports, Disney+
• Argentina: ESPN
• South Africa: Super Sports Watch.Hockey
• Netherlands: Ziggo Sport
• Germany: DAZN
• Australia: Fox Sports
• NZ: Spark Sport
• France: L’Equipe
• Malaysia: Astro