England women's outstanding 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifier campaign

England’s women have completed an outstanding 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifier campaign in India, claiming the gold medal and securing their place at the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup in August after an impressive run of performances.

England were strong throughout their pool stage; they opened their campaign with a 5-2 victory over Italy, before going on to beat both Korea and Austria to top their group. 

They proceeded to fight a home nation battle against Scotland in the Semi-Finals, with goals from Grace Balsdon and Lottie Bingham ensuring a 2-0 victory. 

With their ticket to August’s tournament secured, they carried that momentum into an intense gold-medal match against the hosts India where England emerged victorious. 

There were also a number of notable individual achievements across the week:

• Lizzie Neal won her 50th England cap
• Grace Balsdon celebrated 100 England caps
• Holly Hunt achieved 50 combined England and GB caps

Grace Balsdon and Lottie Bingham were also individually commended for their performances by the tournament organisers, winning Joint Top Goalscorer and Young Player of the Tournament respectively.