# Field hockey at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

The women's field hockey tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was the eleventh edition of the field hockey event for women at the Summer Olympic Games. It was held from 24 July to 6 August 2021. All games were played at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
It was originally scheduled to be held from 25 July to 7 August 2020, but on 24 March 2020, the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this pandemic, the games were played behind closed doors.
Competing in their fifth final in a row (wins in 2008 and 2012; losses in 2004 and 2016), the Netherlands won their fourth title, after winning the final 3–1 over Argentina. The defending champions Great Britain won the bronze medal after defeating India 4–3 in the bronze medal game.
The medals for the competition were presented by Gerardo Werthein, Argentina; IOC Executive Board Member, and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, India; FIH President.

## Competition schedule

| Sat 24 | Sun 25 | Mon 26 | Tue 27 | Wed 28 | Thu 29 | Fri 30 | Sat 31 | Sun 1 | Mon 2 | Tue 3 | Wed 4 | Thu 5 | Thu 5 | Fri 6 | Fri 6 |
| G | G | G | | G | G | G | G | | ¼ | | ½ | | | B | F |

## Competition format

The twelve teams in the tournament were divided into two groups of six, with each team initially playing round-robin games within their group. Following the completion of the round-robin stage, the top four teams from each group advanced to the quarter-finals. The two semi-final winners met for the gold medal match, while the semi-final losers played in the bronze medal match.

## Qualification

Each of the Continental Champions from five confederations received an automatic berth. Japan as the host nation qualified automatically. The other teams qualified through the 2019 Women's FIH Olympic Qualifiers.
| Event | Dates | Location(s) | Quota | Qualifier(s) |
| Host nation | — | — | 1 | Japan |
| 2018 Asian Games | 19 August – 1 September 2018 | Jakarta | – | – |
| 2019 Pan American Games | 29 July – 9 August 2019 | Lima | 1 | Argentina |
| 2019 African Olympic Qualifier | 12 – 18 August 2019 | Stellenbosch | 1 | South Africa |
| 2019 EuroHockey Championship | 17 – 25 August 2019 | Antwerp | 1 | Netherlands |
| 2019 Oceania Cup | 5 – 8 September 2019 | Rockhampton | 1 | New Zealand |
| 2019 FIH Olympic Qualifiers | 25 October – 3 November 2019 | Various | 7 | Australia China Germany Great Britain India Ireland Spain |
| Total | Total | Total | 12 | |
    ^1 – Japan qualified both as the hosts and the continental champions, therefore that quota is added to the FIH Olympic Qualifiers rather than going to the runners-up of the tournament.

## Umpires

On 11 September 2019, 14 umpires were appointed by the FIH.
* Carolina de la Fuente (ARG)
* Irene Presenqui (ARG)
* Aleisha Neumann (AUS)
* Laurine Delforge (BEL)
* Liu Xiaoying (CHN)
* Michelle Meister (GER)
* Sarah Wilson (GBR)
* Emi Yamada (JPN)
* Amber Church (NZL)
* Kelly Hudson (NZL)
* Michelle Joubert (RSA)
* Annelize Rostron (RSA)
* Ayanna McClean (TTO)
* Maggie Giddens (USA)

## Group stage

The pools were announced on 23 November 2019.
All times are local (UTC+9).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Netherlands | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | +16 | 15 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Germany | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 12 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Great Britain | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | India | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Ireland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 3 | |
| 6 | South Africa | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 19 | −14 | 0 | |
* 24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 20:45 v
| Netherlands | 5–1 | India |
| Albers 6', 43' Van Geffen 33' Matla 45' Van Maasakker 52' | Report | Rani 10' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Amber Church (NZL)
* 24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 21:15 v
| Ireland | 2–0 | South Africa |
| Upton 9' Torrans 45' | Report | |
* South Pitch Umpires: Kelly Hudson (NZL) Emi Yamada (JPN)
* 25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 09:30 v
| Great Britain | 1–2 | Germany |
| Jones 13' | Report | Huse 24' Stapenhorst 33' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Liu Xiaoying (CHN) Irene Presenqui (ARG)
* 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 10:00 v
| Netherlands | 4–0 | Ireland |
| Albers 8' Pheninckx 49' Leurink 50' Matla 56' | Report | |
* South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Liu Xiaoying (CHN)
* 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 18:30 v
| South Africa | 1–4 | Great Britain |
| Walraven 6' | Report | Rayer 29', 50' Toman 39' Unsworth 40' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Maggie Giddens (USA)
* 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 21:15 v
| Germany | 2–0 | India |
| Lorenz 12' Schröder 35' | Report | |
* South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Emi Yamada (JPN)
* 28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 09:30 v
| Netherlands | 5–0 | South Africa |
| Matla 16', 35' Keetels 42' Albers 52' Verschoor 55' | Report | |
* North Pitch Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Ayanna McClean (TTO)
* 28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 10:00 v
| Great Britain | 4–1 | India |
| Martin 2', 19' Owsley 41' Balsdon 57' | Report | Sharmila 23' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Aleisha Neumann (AUS)
* 28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 12:15 v
| Germany | 4–2 | Ireland |
| Altenburg 10', 40' Pieper 20' Hauke 55' | Report | Tice 42' McLoughlin 51' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Sarah Wilson (GBR)
* 29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 19:00 v
| Great Britain | 0–1 | Netherlands |
| | Report | Matla 13' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Aleisha Neumann (AUS)
* 30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 09:30 v
| South Africa | 1–4 | Germany |
| Marks 53' | Report | Altenburg 2', 24' Zimmermann 10' Schröder 49' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Emi Yamada (JPN) Maggie Giddens (USA)
* 30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 11:45 v
| Ireland | 0–1 | India |
| | Report | Navneet 57' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Aleisha Neumann (AUS) Annelize Rostron (RSA)
* 31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 12:15 v
| India | 4–3 | South Africa |
| Vandana 4', 17', 49' Neha 32' | Report | Glasby 15' Hunter 30' Marais 39' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Liu Xiaoying (CHN)
* 31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 18:30 v
| Germany | 1–3 | Netherlands |
| Zimmermann 23' | Report | Matla 8', 56' Welten 14' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Irene Presenqui (ARG) Kelly Hudson (NZL)
* 31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 20:45 v
| Ireland | 0–2 | Great Britain |
| | Report | Townsend 17' Martin 32' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Emi Yamada (JPN)

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 15 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Spain | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Argentina | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | New Zealand | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | China | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 6 | |
| 6 | Japan (H) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 0 | |
* 25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 10:00 v
| Australia | 3–1 | Spain |
| Malone 31' Chalker 32' Stewart 37' | Report | Pérez 33' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Annelize Rostron (RSA)
* 25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 11:45 v
| Japan | 3–4 | China |
| Nomura 21' Y. Nagai 31' H. Nagai 45+' | Report | Gu 10', 35' Zhang Y. 20' Liang 52' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Ayanna McClean (TTO) Michelle Meister (GER)
* 25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) 12:15 v
| New Zealand | 3–0 | Argentina |
| Smith 35' Ralph 40' Pearson 54' | Report | |
* South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Maggie Giddens (USA)
* 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 12:15 v
| Australia | 6–0 | China |
| Chalker 16', 22' Peris 31' Malone 54' Kershaw 56' Stewart 58' | Report | |
* South Pitch Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Laurine Delforge (BEL)
* 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 19:00 v
| Argentina | 3–0 | Spain |
| Raposo 47' Albertario 57' Barrionuevo 59' | Report | |
* South Pitch Umpires: Ayanna McClean (TTO) Aleisha Neumann (AUS)
* 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 20:45 v
| Japan | 1–2 | New Zealand |
| Oikawa 18' | Report | Merry 26' Ralph 29' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Irene Presenqui (ARG) Annelize Rostron (RSA)
* 28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 11:45 v
| New Zealand | 1–2 | Spain |
| Smith 35' | Report | Iglesias 8' Riera 22' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Michelle Meister (GER)
* 28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 18:30 v
| Japan | 0–1 | Australia |
| | Report | M. Fitzpatrick 33' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Maggie Giddens (USA) Liu Xiaoying (CHN)
* 28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 19:00 v
| Argentina | 3–2 | China |
| Gorzelany 18', 24' Jankunas 54' | Report | Li H. 52' Liu 56' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Annelize Rostron (RSA) Emi Yamada (JPN)
* 29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 18:30 v
| Spain | 2–0 | China |
| Pérez 4' Bonastre 19' | Report | |
* North Pitch Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Irene Presenqui (ARG)
* 29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 20:45 v
| Japan | 1–2 | Argentina |
| Mori 19' | Report | Gorzelany 10' M. Granatto 45' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Kelly Hudson (NZL) Ayanna McClean (TTO)
* 29 July 2021 (2021-07-29) 21:15 v
| New Zealand | 0–1 | Australia |
| | Report | Chalker 34' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Laurine Delforge (BEL)
* 31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 09:30 v
| China | 3–2 | New Zealand |
| Liu 24' Chen Y. 37' Liang 54' | Report | Gunson 20' Keddell 45' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Ayanna McClean (TTO)
* 31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 10:00 v
| Japan | 1–4 | Spain |
| Mori 6' | Report | Barrios 25' García Grau 38' Mejías 55' Bonastre 57' |
* South Pitch Umpires: Sarah Wilson (GBR) Maggie Giddens (USA)
* 31 July 2021 (2021-07-31) 11:45 v
| Argentina | 0–2 | Australia |
| | Report | S. Fitzpatrick 49' Chalker 59' |
* North Pitch Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Michelle Joubert (RSA)

## Knockout stage
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| 2 August | 2 August | | | |
| Netherlands | 3 | | | |
| Netherlands | 3 | 4 August | 4 August | | |
| New Zealand | 0 | 4 August | 4 August | |
| New Zealand | 0 | Netherlands | 5 | |
| 2 August | 2 August | | Netherlands | 5 | |
| 2 August | 2 August | Great Britain | 1 | |
| Spain | 2 (0) | Great Britain | 1 | |
| Spain | 2 (0) | | | | 6 August | 6 August |
| Great Britain (p.s.o.) | 2 (2) | | | | 6 August | 6 August |
| Great Britain (p.s.o.) | 2 (2) | | | | Netherlands | 3 |
| 2 August | 2 August | | | | | Netherlands | 3 |
| 2 August | 2 August | | | | Argentina | 1 |
| Germany | 0 | | | | Argentina | 1 |
| Germany | 0 | 4 August | 4 August | | | |
| Argentina | 3 | 4 August | 4 August | | | |
| Argentina | 3 | Argentina | 2 | | | |
| 2 August | 2 August | | Argentina | 2 | | | |
| 2 August | 2 August | India | 1 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Australia | 0 | India | 1 | | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| Australia | 0 | | | | 6 August | 6 August |
| India | 1 | | | | 6 August | 6 August |
| India | 1 | | | | Great Britain | 4 |
| | | | | | India | 3 |

### Quarter-finals

* 2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 09:30 v
| Germany | 0–3 | Argentina |
| | Report | Albertario 27' V. Granatto 29' Raposo 52' |
* Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Amber Church (NZL)
* 2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 12:00 v
| Australia | 0–1 | India |
| | Report | Gurjit 22' |
* Umpires: Carolina de la Fuente (ARG) Irene Presenqui (ARG)
* 2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 18:30 v
| Netherlands | 3–0 | New Zealand |
| Welten 7' Matla 21' Stam 37' | Report | |
* Umpires: Michelle Meister (GER) Michelle Joubert (RSA)
* 2 August 2021 (2021-08-02) 21:00 v
| Spain | 2–2 | Great Britain |
| Iglesias 20' Bonastre 51' | Report | Martin 17' Balsdon 37' |
| Penalties |||
| Ycart García Grau Oliva Pérez | 0–2 | Toman Martin Jones |
* Umpires: Aleisha Neumann (AUS) Annelize Rostron (RSA)

### Semi-finals

* 4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 10:30 v
| Netherlands | 5–1 | Great Britain |
| Albers 19', 38' Keetels 18' Verschoor 32' Matla 49' | Report | Ansley 41' |
* Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Laurine Delforge (BEL)
* 4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) 19:00 v
| Argentina | 2–1 | India |
| Barrionuevo 18', 37' | Report | Gurjit 2' |
* Umpires: Amber Church (NZL) Sarah Wilson (GBR)

### Bronze medal match

* 6 August 2021 (2021-08-06) 10:30 v
| Great Britain | 4–3 | India |
| Rayer 16' Robertson 24' Pearne-Webb 35' Balsdon 48' | Report | Gurjit 25', 26' Vandana 29' |
* Umpires: Michelle Joubert (RSA) Michelle Meister (GER)

### Gold medal match

* 6 August 2021 (2021-08-06) 19:00 v
| Netherlands | 3–1 | Argentina |
| Van Geffen 23' Van Maasakker 26', 29' | Report | Gorzelany 30+' |
* Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL) Sarah Wilson (GBR)
Team details :
Netherlands
Argentina
GK22Josine Koning
DF13Caia van Maasakker
DF18Pien Sanders
DF21Lauren Stam 14'
DF23Margot van Geffen
DF7Xan de Waard
MF8Marloes Keetels
MF24Eva de Goede (c)
FW11Maria Verschoor
FW12Lidewij Welten
FW15Frédérique Matla
Substitutions:
DF3Sanne Koolen 2'
MF5Malou Pheninckx 3'
MF6Laurien Leurink 3'
MF10Felice Albers 4'
MF20Laura Nunnink 4'
Manager:
Alyson Annan
GK1Belén Succi
DF3Agustina Gorzelany
DF4Valentina Raposo
DF27Noel Barrionuevo (c)
MF2Sofía Toccalino
MF5Agostina Alonso
MF17Rocío Sánchez Moccia
MF18Victoria Sauze
MF22Eugenia Trinchinetti
FW10María José Granatto
FW12Delfina Merino
Substitutions:
FW7Agustina Albertario 57' 5'
FW21Victoria Granatto 5'
MF23Micaela Retegui 9'
MF24Emilia Forcherio 57'
FW28Julieta Jankunas 5'
Manager:
Carlos Retegui :

## Goalscorers

There were 142 goals scored in 38 matches, for an average of 3.74 goals per match.
9 goals
* Frédérique Matla
6 goals
* Felice Albers
5 goals
* Emily Chalker
4 goals
* Agustina Gorzelany
* Lisa Altenburg
* Hannah Martin
* Gurjit Kaur
* Vandana Katariya
3 goals
* Noel Barrionuevo
* Grace Balsdon
* Elena Rayer
* Caia van Maasakker
* Berta Bonastre
2 goals
* Agustina Albertario
* Valentina Raposo
* Ambrosia Malone
* Grace Stewart
* Gu Bingfeng
* Liang Meiyu
* Liu Meng
* Anne Schröder
* Sonja Zimmermann
* Kanon Mori
* Margot van Geffen
* Marloes Keetels
* Maria Verschoor
* Lidewij Welten
* Hope Ralph
* Kelsey Smith
* Belén Iglesias
* Beatriz Pérez
1 goal
* María José Granatto
* Victoria Granatto
* Julieta Jankunas
* Savannah Fitzpatrick
* Madison Fitzpatrick
* Stephanie Kershaw
* Brooke Peris
* Chen Yang
* Li Hong
* Zhang Ying
* Franzisca Hauke
* Viktoria Huse
* Nike Lorenz
* Cécile Pieper
* Charlotte Stapenhorst
* Giselle Ansley
* Sarah Jones
* Lily Owsley
* Hollie Pearne-Webb
* Sarah Robertson
* Anna Toman
* Susannah Townsend
* Laura Unsworth
* Sharmila Devi
* Neha Goyal
* Navneet Kaur
* Rani Rampal
* Hannah McLoughlin
* Elena Tice
* Sarah Torrans
* Róisín Upton
* Hazuki Nagai
* Yuri Nagai
* Kana Nomura
* Shihori Oikawa
* Laurien Leurink
* Malou Pheninckx
* Lauren Stam
* Ella Gunson
* Rose Keddell
* Olivia Merry
* Holly Pearson
* Tarryn Glasby
* Erin Hunter
* Marizen Marais
* Toni Marks
* Nicole Walraven
* Laura Barrios
* Begoña García Grau
* Candela Mejías
* Lola Riera
Source: Tokyo2020 and FIH

## Final ranking

As per statistical convention in field hockey, matches decided in regular time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
| 1 | Netherlands | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 4 | +25 | 24 | Gold Medal |
| 2 | Argentina | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 15 | Silver Medal |
| 3 | Great Britain | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 13 | Bronze Medal |
| 4 | India | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 9 | Fourth place |
| 5 | Australia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | +11 | 15 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 6 | Germany | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 12 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 7 | Spain | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 10 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 8 | New Zealand | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 6 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 9 | China | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 6 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 10 | Ireland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 3 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 11 | Japan (H) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 0 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 12 | South Africa | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 19 | −14 | 0 | Eliminated in group stage |

## Cockroach recording

On 26 July 2021, during the last five minutes of the preliminary match between Argentina and Spain, a cockroach was recorded on the field. While switching between cameras, the Argentinian sports channel Torneos y Competencias spent several seconds with one cameraperson that was focused on a cockroach walking atop a fence, leading the TyC Sports commentator to acknowledge the presence of "la cucaracha". A clip of the cockroach uploaded to Twitter by user @s6antispam went viral, receiving 8.2 million views worldwide over the weekend.