Germany retained their men's FIH Hockey World Cup title after beating Spain 1-0 in a closely fought final at the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium, on Sunday.
Michael Struthoff scored the only goal of the match to help Germany secure their fourth World Cup title. The victory also saw the defending champions join Pakistan as the joint-most successful team in the history of the men's Hockey World Cup, with four titles each.
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Germany had entered the final as defending champions after winning the 2023 World Cup in Bhubaneswar. Their previous World Cup triumphs came in 2002, 2006 and 2023.
Spain, meanwhile, were chasing their maiden men's Hockey World Cup title. The Spaniards had reached the final after producing a major upset against Olympic champions and hosts Netherlands, beating them 4-3 in the semi-final.
The final remained tightly contested, with Spain creating opportunities but struggling to convert them. Germany eventually held on to their narrow lead to successfully defend their crown.
With the victory, Germany have now matched Pakistan's record of four men's Hockey World Cup titles, further strengthening their place among the most successful teams in international hockey.
Germany have become the third team to successfully defend the Hockey World Cup. Before them, only Pakistan (1978 and 1982) and Australia (2010 and 2014) had won the tournament in consecutive editions.
On the other hand, Argentina's men's hockey team defeated the Netherlands in the third-place playoff after winning the match in a penalty shootout.
Full list of FIH Men's Hockey World Cup winners (1971 to 2026)
- 1971 — Pakistan (beat Spain 1-0)
- 1973 — Netherlands (beat India 4-2 on penalties)
- 1975 — India (beat Pakistan 2-1)
- 1978 — Pakistan (beat Netherlands 3-2)
- 1982 — Pakistan (beat West Germany 3-1)
- 1986 — Australia (beat England 2-1)
- 1990 — Netherlands (beat Pakistan 3-1)
- 1994 — Pakistan (beat Netherlands 4-3 on penalties)
- 1998 — Netherlands (beat Spain 3-2)
- 2002 — Germany (beat Australia 2-1)
- 2006 — Germany (beat Australia 4-3)
- 2010 — Australia (beat Germany 2-1)
- 2014 — Australia (beat Netherlands 6-1)
- 2018 — Belgium (beat Netherlands 3-2 on penalties)
- 2023 — Germany (beat Belgium 5-4 on penalties)
- 2026 — Germany (beat Spain 1-0)
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