Hyderabad, March 12 Having already secured a spot in the World Cup, India will aim to win the trophy at the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup Qualifiers and take a significant step towards that goal by winning the semifinal against Italy here on Friday.
The Indian women's hockey team finished at the top of Pool B with seven points from three matches. Scotland also collected the same number of points but finished second in the group due to India's superior goal difference.
The hosts won two matches and drew one in the group stage.
Italy finished second in Pool A with four points after winning one match, drawing one, and losing one, giving the hosts a slight psychological advantage going into the semifinal.
India will look to capitalize on the impressive form of forward Navneet Kaur, who is currently one of the top scorers in the tournament with four goals. She produced a standout performance in the final pool match against Wales, scoring a brilliant hat-trick to end the group stage on a high note.
Meanwhile, Italy will rely on Federica Carta, who has been their key attacking threat and has scored three goals so far in the competition.
On paper and in terms of performance, India has a significant advantage over Italy.
In terms of head-to-head encounters, India and Italy have played seven matches against each other since 2012. India has won five of those matches, while Italy has won one and one match ended in a draw, giving the hosts a slight psychological advantage.
India's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne, who is back at the helm after the Tokyo Olympics, described the achievement as a significant milestone.
"Securing qualification for the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup 2026 is an important milestone for this group, and the players deserve a lot of credit for the way they have performed so far in the tournament," he said.
"They have shown good discipline, composure, and attacking intent throughout the group stage.
"At the same time, our mindset is very clear – we are not just here to qualify. We want to keep improving with every match and aim to win the tournament. The semifinal is another big challenge, and we will approach it with full focus and intensity."
However, the Dutchman cautioned his team to take Italy lightly.
"Italy is a competitive team, and they have shown in this tournament that they can trouble strong teams. For us, the focus will be on executing our plans well, maintaining our structure, and continuing to play with the same energy and confidence," he said.
The FIH Women's World Cup will be held alongside the men's competition, jointly hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium, from August 15 to 30.
