With the men’s final set for August 30 and the women’s final a day earlier, the Hockey World Cup 2026 medal table is still being written, but the contenders are already coming into focus.
## Who’s still in the running
Pakistan’s elimination after a 5-3 loss to India, covered in our [match analysis](india-vs-pakistan-hockey-world-cup-2026-match-analysis), removed the tournament’s most decorated team from medal contention entirely. That leaves defending champions Germany, co-hosts Belgium and the Netherlands, and a resurgent India as the leading names heading into the crossover pools.
## How the medal table gets decided
Under this year’s new format, explained in full in our [format guide](hockey-world-cup-2026-new-format-explained), the top two finishers from crossover Pools E and F advance directly to the semifinals. The four semifinalists in each event then play for gold, silver and bronze, while the rest are ranked through classification matches down to 16th place.
## What to watch heading into the final stretch
– Netherlands women (9-time champions) remain the team to beat
– Germany men defend their 2023 title
– India’s men and women are both still alive after strong pool-stage results, detailed in our [India schedule guide](hockey-world-cup-2026-india-schedule)
## Where our predictions land
For a full breakdown of who we expect to walk away with medals in both the men’s and women’s events, read our [medal predictions](hockey-world-cup-2026-medal-predictions) piece. This page will be updated as semifinal and final results come in, bookmark our [complete schedule and results](hockey-world-cup-2026-complete-schedule-results) hub to follow every match as the podium takes shape.