The Paris Olympic hockey tournament is set to kick into action this month, with Belgium men and Netherlands women bidding to retain their titles.
Here, we look at how the men’s and women’s competition pools shape up.
Women
Pool A: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Japan, China, France
Pool B: Australia, Argentina, Great Britain, Spain, United States, South Africa
Men
Pool A: Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, France, South Africa
Pool B: Belgium, India, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland
READ: Paris 2024 Olympics: schedule, match fixtures, results, how to watch on TV
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Men’s Pool A
Netherlands: Since missing out on the medal positions in the previous edition of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Netherlands have been a side on a steady rise and qualified for Paris 2024 by winning the gold medal at the EuroHockey Championships 2023 which gained them a direct spot at the Olympics, without having to play in the Olympic Qualifiers.
Germany: Reigning world champions Germany were placed in the qualifiers in Oman after finishing fourth in the EuroHockey Championships 2023. They came away unbeaten, winning the final and finishing in the first position to secure their place in Paris 2024, after finishing fourth in the previous edition.
Great Britain: Nearly secured direct qualification to the Olympics at the EuroHockey Championships 2023, but a close 2-1 loss in the final to Netherlands meant they had to qualify, which they did by finishing second in Oman.
Spain: Following a 6th place finish in EuroHockey 2023, Spain qualified to play in Valencia, where they rode a fantastic home support to reach the finals. They lost to Belgium, but a second place was enough to see them seal a place in the Olympics.
France: France qualified as hosts.
South Africa: South Africa were the winners of the ‘African Hockey Road to Paris 2024’ competition which secured them direct qualification to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as continental champions from Africa.
Men’s Pool B
Belgium: Finished in third place at EuroHockey 2023, which left the reigning gold medalists from Tokyo 2020 to qualify through Valencia. With a flawless performance, where they won all 5 matches, including the finals against hosts Spain, Belgium secured their spot in Paris 2024, where they will aim to defend their title.
India: The Bronze medalists from Tokyo, secured their spot among the 12 teams in Paris 2024 by winning the gold medal at the Asia Cup, which gave them direct qualification as continental champions of Asia.
Australia: Missed out on the gold medal in the previous edition of the Olympics, by the narrowest margins through a shoot-out loss in the gold medal match, but will be back thanks to their victory in the 2023 Oceania Cup, which sees them proceed to Paris 2024.
Argentina: Along with India and Australia, Argentina will be the third team in men’s pool B that have secured their place in Paris 2024 directly as the champions of their respective continents. Argentina won gold at the Pan American Games 2023 to qualify, where their last medal came in the form of gold in Rio 2016.
New Zealand: As the runners up of the Oceania Cup 2023, New Zealand had to settle for a place in the Olympic Qualifiers in Oman. A third place finish in the Qualifiers, with a particularly thrilling victory over Pakistan in the bronze medal match, saw them take the last available spot to Paris 2024.
Ireland: As the winners of the EuroHockey Championship II, Ireland qualified to play the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia, where they scripted a fairytale run to finish third in front of a huge Irish travelling contingent of vociferous fans and qualified for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Women’s Pool A
Netherlands: The reigning Olympic and world champions continued their dominance by securing a direct spot in Paris 2024 as continental champions, through their gold medal victory at the EuroHockey Championships 2023.
Belgium: Belgium finished second at the EuroHockey 2023 behind the indomitable Dutch, which meant they had to finish in the top 3 in Valencia to qualify for Paris 2024, after missing out on the two previous editions of the games. Belgium flourished at the qualifiers staying unbeaten to finish first and qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Germany: Germany finished as the bronze medalists at the EuroHockey Championships 2023 and had to play in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi, India. Germany won all their matches in the qualifiers, including a tense shoot-out win against India in the semi-finals, to secure their place at Paris 2024.
Japan: Japan finished fourth in the Asian Games 2023, and qualified for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi, India. Their campaign reached a make-or-break point after losing the semi-final against USA, when they faced hosts India in the third place match, where a closely fought victory secured their place at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
China: A stellar campaign in the Asian Games 2022, at home in Hangzhou, China, saw China win all their matches and qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 as the continental champions of Asia.
France: France qualified for Paris 2024 as hosts.
Women’s Pool B
Australia: Australia qualified for their 11th straight appearance at the Olympic Games in women’s hockey by winning the Oceania Cup 2023, which sent them directly to Paris 2024 as the continental champions from Oceania.
Argentina: With 6 medals in the previous 7 editions of the Olympic Games, Argentina are one of the most successful teams in Olympic hockey history. They qualified for their 11th straight appearance in the games by winning gold at the Pan American Games 2023, and will be aiming to get their first ever Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
Great Britain: Great Britain qualified for the Olympic Games by finishing third at the Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia. They had to do it the hard way though, as they faced off against continental rivals Ireland in a do-or-die third place match, where a narrow 2-1 win sent them to Paris 2024, where they will arrive on the back of three consecutive podium finishes.
Spain: A sixth place finish at the EuroHockey Championships sent Spain into the Olympic Qualifiers in front of their home crowds in Valencia. Cheered on by their massive crowds, Spain went all the way to the finals in the qualifiers, and while that game finished in a close loss, a second place finish was enough to send the Red Sticks to the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
–READ MORE: Paris 2024 Olympics: Hockey schedule, match fixtures
–Our full Olympic coverage of 2024 Games
United States: Following a few lean years at the international level, United States look like a much more confident side under new head coach David Passmore and the benefits were evident at the Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi, where United States went all the way to the finals, before falling to Germany, but a second place finish was enough to send them back to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 after having missed out on the previous edition in Tokyo.
South Africa: South Africa join Argentina and Australia as the third team to be placed in Pool B as direct qualifiers from the continental championships. South Africa won gold at the ‘African Hockey Road to Paris 2024’ and will make their sixth appearance in women’s hockey at the Olympics, during Paris 2024.
