Belgium and the Netherlands are set to co host the Hockey World Cup from August 15 to 30, with matches split between the newly built Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre and the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen.
Belgium's men arrive as the top ranked team in the world, having claimed the number one spot in June after a dominant run through the FIH Pro League, where the Red Lions won 13 of their 16 matches and beat every opponent they faced at least once.
Much of that form has been built around Tom Boon. At 36, he was named 2025 FIH Player of the Year after scoring 19 goals across 13 Pro League appearances in the 2025 to 2026 season.
The Netherlands sit just behind Belgium in the rankings and arrive as reigning Olympic champions from Paris 2024, still chasing a first World Cup title since 1998. Thierry Brinkman, who became an Olympic champion in Paris, has been nominated for FIH Men's Player of the Year in each of the last four years.
The tournament introduces a new format this year. Four pools of four teams feed into a second group phase starting August 21, with the top two finishers from each second round pool advancing straight to the semifinals, removing the quarterfinal stage altogether.
With the world's top two men's teams both playing on home soil, and Belgium carrying the weight of a number one ranking into a tournament it is helping host, the opening weeks in Wavre and Amstelveen are shaping up as some of the most closely watched hockey of the year.