{"id":10268,"date":"2026-03-07T09:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=10268"},"modified":"2026-03-07T09:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:52:17","slug":"france-and-ireland-headed-to-fih-hockey-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/france-and-ireland-headed-to-fih-hockey-world-cup-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"France and Ireland headed to FIH Hockey World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Men\u2019s crossovers began today with four matches at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifier in Santiago, Chile. France earned a spot at this year\u2019s World Cup with a 4-2 victory over Poland, while Ireland secured one with a 4-0 shutout over Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The winner of the upcoming match between Poland and Wales will also go on to the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With wins of their own today, Scotland and Canada will play for fifth place, while Korea and Chile will play for seventh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) Scotland 8 \u2013 2 Korea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a heartbreaking result in pool play that dashed its World Cup dreams, Scotland unleashed its fury out on Korea, winning 8-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A swift three goals in the first five minutes gave Scotland a comfortable start. Jamie Golden notched the first on a penalty corner, while Struan Walker hit back-to-back strikes. It was perhaps too relaxed for Scotland, who gave up two goals to Korea before the first quarter ended. Dohyun Lim scored his second of the tournament off a set piece, while Min Su Cheon got his first to bring the score to 3-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scotland\u2019s Walker got his hat trick early in the second frame off a long angle shot. Korea threatened with several penalty corner chances, but would not convert again in the period or for the rest of the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Golden showed off a set piece flick of immense force to open the third quarter, while Andrew McConnell added another to put Scotland up 6-2 to end the frame. In the final quarter, Walker tallied his fourth goal of the game, while Golden became the second Scot of the match to garner a hat trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scotland\u2019s Struan Walker, in his 50th international cap, was named player of the match. \u201cI think we\u2019re so happy to kind of bounce back from those tough two games,\u201d said Walker. \u201cTwo days ago our dreams of going to a World Cup were taken away from us, it was our own fault don\u2019t get me wrong, but to be able to bounce back, put on a performance, score eight goals, I\u2019m so proud of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) Canada 3 \u2013 2 Chile<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a scrappy, contentious match fighting for a chance to play for fifth, Canada bested Chile in dramatic fourth quarter fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Juan Amoroso tallied on a set piece to open the match and give Chile the first lead. But with a good bit of 3D skill, Canada\u2019s Hudson Loh scored his first to even out the scoreline. A minute later, Chile took back its lead when Raimundo Valenzuela tapped in a crossed ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second and third quarters were a stalemate when it came to goals, but Canada found the equalizer in the fourth quarter from Roopkanwar Dhillon. Despite getting two yellow cards following the goal, Canada still found the game-winner when Sean Davis finished off a penalty corner in the final minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canada\u2019s Sean Davis was named player of the match. \u201cWe started slowly this tournament,\u201d said Davis. \u201cAnd to get two wins now is good momentum for us going forward, especially [against] Chile. In the Pan Am we\u2019ve been rivals with them for a while, so it\u2019s good to get a win against them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) France 4 \u2013 2 Poland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A disciplined defense and productive offense propelled France to their third consecutive World Cup qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was solid play from both sides in the opening frame, but one penalty corner in the 14th minute put France ahead, as Timoth\u00e9e Cl\u00e9ment put it away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two quick goals to kick off the next frame put France at a more comfortable 3-0 lead, one from Stanislas Branicki and another from Xavier Esmenjuad. The game was not out of reach for Poland just yet, as Tomasz Bembenek found the back of the cage on a penalty corner to bring the score to 3-1 before halftime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Poland brought it even closer early in the third, as Wojciech Rutkowski sent in the rebound from a set piece shot to bring the deficient to one. France regained their two-goal lead for the remainder of the match shortly after via Corentin Sellier\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>France\u2019s Fran\u00e7ois Goyet was named player of the match. \u201cWe are really happy with the qualification to [the World Cup],\u201d said Goyet. \u201cThat was the main objective, so we are really happy about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) Ireland 4 \u2013 0 Wales<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as it had been doing all week, Ireland executed when needed, this time shutting out Wales 4-0 to cement a trip to the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seemed all of Ireland\u2019s goals were a thing of beauty, starting with Jonathan Lynch\u2019s diving play in the first few minutes. The second would come in the next frame, a lovely passing sequence that was finished by Louis Rowe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ireland kept on with its composure, scoring two more in the third quarter. Lynch tallied his second and Matthew Nelson sent in a shot over the goalkeeper to put Ireland up 4-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ireland\u2019s Jonathan Lynch was named player of the match. \u201cWe\u2019re absolutely ecstatic,\u201d said Lynch. \u201cWe came here with one goal, and it was to qualify for the World Cup and we\u2019ve done that, so that\u2019s achievement number one, but now we want to go on and win the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Results:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) Scotland 8 \u2013 2 Korea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Player of the match: Struan Walker (SCO) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) Canada 3 \u2013 2 Chile<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Player of the match: Sean Davis (CAN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) France 4 \u2013 2 Poland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Player of the match: Fran\u00e7ois Goyet (FRA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>(Men\u2019s) Ireland 4 \u2013 0 Wales<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Player of the match: Jonanthan Lynch (IRL)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Men\u2019s crossovers began today with four matches at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifier in Santiago, Chile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-10268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-hockey"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch.webp",1024,576,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch-300x169.webp",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch-768x432.webp",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch.webp",640,360,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch.webp",1024,576,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch.webp",1024,576,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch-825x575.webp",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch-590x410.webp",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/category\/international\/\" rel=\"category tag\">International<\/a>","tag_info":"International","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Jonathan-Lynch.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10270,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10268\/revisions\/10270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}