India’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 came to an end after they suffered a 3-5 defeat against Argentina in their final Pool E match at the Wagener Stadium on Monday.
India needed a convincing victory to remain in contention for the last-four stage but were outplayed by Argentina, who secured three points and moved to six points in the pool. India finished fourth in Pool E and will now compete for the 7th-8th position.
Argentina made a blistering start, taking a 2-0 lead within the opening six minutes. Joaquin Toscani opened the scoring inside the first minute before Nicolas della Torre doubled the advantage from a penalty corner in the sixth minute.
India responded in the 10th minute when Sukhjeet Singh converted a well-worked move to reduce the deficit to 1-2. However, Argentina continued to threaten the Indian defence, with their pace and aerial passes creating problems for the Indian midfield and backline.
The second quarter ended without a goal, although India struggled to convert possession into clear scoring opportunities. Aditya Arjun Lalage, Dilpreet Singh, Sanjay and Hardik Singh created openings, but India were unable to capitalise on them.
Argentina regained control in the third quarter. Tomas Domene finished a quick counter-attack after Sanjay lost possession in midfield to restore Argentina’s two-goal advantage.
India had several opportunities from penalty corners, but Harmanpreet Singh’s drag-flicks were either blocked by the Argentine defence or failed to find the target.
Argentina extended their lead in the 45th minute when Domene converted a penalty stroke after Yashdeep Siwach was struck by the ball in front of goal. Lucas Toscani then made it 5-1 in the 53rd minute with a powerful tomahawk.
India mounted a late fightback. Sukhjeet scored his second goal of the match in the 58th minute with a deft deflection from Mandeep Singh’s cross. A minute later, Sukhjeet was brought down inside the circle and Hardik Singh converted the resulting penalty stroke to reduce the deficit to 3-5.
India earned one final penalty corner just before the hooter, but Argentina goalkeeper Tomas Santiago made the decisive save to secure the victory.
Argentina, now on six points, will await the result of the Netherlands-England match to determine the two teams that will advance to the semi-finals from Pool E. India, meanwhile, will play for seventh and eighth place in the tournament.
(Inputs from Hockey India)
