India, Aug. 17 -- The FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2026 is underway, co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, bringing together 16 of the world's best teams. The opening matches are already concluded, and a new tournament format to secure a spot in the knockout stages has begun. Here is a look at how the tournament is unfolding and where the teams currently stand in the points table.

Unlike previous editions, this year's tournament has entirely eliminated the traditional quarter-final stage. The 16 participating teams are initially divided into four pools (A, B, C, and D) of four teams each. After playing every opponent in their pool once, the top two teams from each group will advance to a second pool phase (Pools E and F).

The teams wi...