# Women's FIH Hockey World Cup

The Women's FIH Hockey World Cup is the field hockey World Cup competition for women, whose format for qualification and the final tournament is similar to the men's. It has been held since 1974. The tournament has been organized by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) since they merged with the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA) in 1982. Since 1986, it has been held regularly once every four years, in the same year as the men's competition, which is mid-cycle between Summer Olympic games.
Of the fourteen tournaments held so far, only four teams have won the event. Netherlands is the most successful team, having won the title nine times. Argentina, Germany and Australia are joint second best teams, having each won the title twice. So far, the Netherlands and Australia are the two champions able to defend their titles. At the end of the 2018 World Cup, fifteen nations had reached the semifinal of the tournament.
The size of the tournament has changed over time. The 1974 and 1978 World Cups featured 10 nations (smallest); the 1976 World Cup featured 11 nations; the 2002 World Cup featured 16 nations (largest), and the remaining seven World Cups have featured 12 nations. The World Cup was again expanded to 16 teams in 2018, and the FIH will evaluate the possibility of increasing it to 24 in 2022.
The 2022 tournament was held in Amstelveen and Terrassa from 1–17 July, with Netherlands winning a third consecutive title and a record ninth title after beating Argentina 3–1 in the final.

## Results
### Summaries

| Year | Host | Final | Final | Final | Third place match | Third place match | Third place match | Number of teams |
| Year | Host | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | Number of teams |
| 1974 Details | Mandelieu, France | Netherlands | 1–0 | Argentina | West Germany | 2–0 | India | 10 |
| 1976 Details | West Berlin, West Germany | West Germany | 2–0 | Argentina | Netherlands | 1–0 | Belgium | 11 |
| 1978 Details | Madrid, Spain | Netherlands | 1–0 | West Germany | Belgium | 0–0 (3–2) Penalty strokes | Argentina | 10 |
| 1981 Details | Buenos Aires, Argentina | West Germany | 1–1 (3–1) Penalty strokes | Netherlands | Soviet Union | 5–1 | Australia | 12 |
| 1983 Details | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Netherlands | 4–2 | Canada | Australia | 3–1 | West Germany | 12 |
| 1986 Details | Amstelveen, Netherlands | Netherlands | 3–0 | West Germany | Canada | 3–2 after extra time | New Zealand | 12 |
| 1990 Details | Sydney, Australia | Netherlands | 3–1 | Australia | South Korea | 3–2 | England | 12 |
| 1994 Details | Dublin, Ireland | Australia | 2–0 | Argentina | United States | 2–1 | Germany | 12 |
| 1998 Details | Utrecht, Netherlands | Australia | 3–2 | Netherlands | Germany | 3–2 | Argentina | 12 |
| 2002 Details | Perth, Australia | Argentina | 1–1 (4–3) Penalty strokes | Netherlands | China | 2–0 | Australia | 16 |
| 2006 Details | Madrid, Spain | Netherlands | 3–1 | Australia | Argentina | 5–0 | Spain | 12 |
| 2010 Details | Rosario, Argentina | Argentina | 3–1 | Netherlands | England | 2–0 | Germany | 12 |
| 2014 Details | The Hague, Netherlands | Netherlands | 2–0 | Australia | Argentina | 2–1 | United States | 12 |
| 2018 Details | London, England | Netherlands | 6–0 | Ireland | Spain | 3–1 | Australia | 16 |
| 2022 Details | Terrassa, Spain & Amstelveen, Netherlands | Netherlands | 3–1 | Argentina | Australia | 2–1 | Germany | 16 |
| 2026 Details | Wavre, Belgium & Amstelveen, Netherlands | | | | | | | 16 |

### Successful national teams

| Team | Titles | Runners-up | Third places | Fourth places |
| Netherlands | 9 (1974, 1978, 1983, 1986*, 1990, 2006, 2014*, 2018, 2022*) | 4 (1981, 1998*, 2002, 2010) | 1 (1976) | |
| Argentina | 2 (2002, 2010*) | 4 (1974, 1976, 1994, 2022) | 3 (1978, 2006, 2014) | 1 (1998) |
| Australia | 2 (1994, 1998) | 3 (1990*, 2006, 2014) | 2 (1983, 2022) | 3 (1981, 2002*, 2018) |
| Germany^ | 2 (1976*, 1981) | 2 (1978, 1986) | 2 (1974, 1998) | 4 (1983, 1994, 2010, 2022) |
| Canada | | 1 (1983) | 1 (1986) | |
| Ireland | | 1 (2018) | | |
| Belgium | | | 1 (1978) | 1 (1976) |
| United States | | | 1 (1994) | 1 (2014) |
| England | | | 1 (2010) | 1 (1990) |
| Spain | | | 1 (2018) | 1 (2006*) |
| Soviet Union# | | | 1 (1981) | |
| South Korea | | | 1 (1990) | |
| China | | | 1 (2002) | |
| India | | | | 1 (1974) |
| New Zealand | | | | 1 (1986) |
    * = host country
    ^ = includes results representing West Germany between 1974 and 1990
    # = states that have since split into two or more independent countries

### Performance by continental zones

| Continent | Best performance |
| Europe | 11 titles, won by the Netherlands (9) and Germany (2) |
| America | 2 titles, won by Argentina |
| Oceania | 2 titles, won by Australia |
| Asia | Third place (Korea, 1990 and China, 2002) |
| Africa | Seventh place (South Africa, 1998) |

## Team appearances

| Team | 1974 | 1976 | 1978 | 1981 | 1983 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2022 | 2026 | Total |
| Argentina | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 9th | 7th | 9th | 2nd | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 7th | 2nd | | 15 |
| Australia | – | – | – | 4th | 3rd | 6th | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | | 12 |
| Austria | 8th | 9th | – | 12th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | 3 |
| Belgium | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 8th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12th | 10th | 6th | Q | 8 |
| Canada | – | – | 5th | 5th | 2nd | 3rd | 10th | 10th | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15th | | 7 |
| Chile | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13th | | 1 |
| China | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6th | 7th | 11th | 3rd | 10th | 8th | 6th | 16th | 9th | | 9 |
| Czechoslovakia# | – | – | 9th | – | – | – | – | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | 1 |
| England | – | – | – | – | 5th | 5th | 4th | 9th | 9th | 5th | 7th | 3rd | 11th | 6th | 8th | | 11 |
| France | 7th | 6th | – | 9th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | 3 |
| Germany^ | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 8th | 4th | 3rd | 7th | 8th | 4th | 8th | 5th | 4th | Q | 16 |
| India | 4th | – | 7th | – | 11th | – | – | – | 12th | – | 11th | 9th | – | 8th | 9th | | 8 |
| Ireland | – | – | – | – | – | 12th | – | 11th | – | 15th | – | – | – | 2nd | 11th | | 5 |
| Italy | – | 10th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9th | – | | 2 |
| Japan | – | – | 6th | 7th | – | – | 11th | – | – | 10th | 5th | 11th | 10th | 13th | 11th | | 9 |
| Mexico | 10th | 7th | – | 11th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | 3 |
| Netherlands | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 6th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | Q | 16 |
| New Zealand | – | – | – | – | 7th | 4th | 7th | – | 6th | 11th | – | 7th | 5th | 11th | 5th | | 9 |
| Nigeria | – | 11th | 10th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | 2 |
| Russia | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | 12th | – | 16th | – | – | – | – | – | | 2 |
| Scotland | – | – | – | – | 8th | 10th | – | – | 10th | 12th | – | – | – | – | – | | 4 |
| South Africa | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7th | 13th | 12th | 10th | 9th | 15th | 15th | | 7 |
| South Korea | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3rd | 5th | 5th | 6th | 9th | 6th | 7th | 12th | 13th | | 9 |
| Soviet Union# | – | – | – | 3rd | 10th | 8th | – | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | Defunct | 3 |
| Spain | 6th | 5th | 8th | 10th | – | 11th | 5th | 8th | – | 8th | 4th | 12th | – | 3rd | 7th | | 12 |
| Switzerland | 9th | 8th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | 2 |
| Ukraine | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | – | – | 14th | – | – | – | – | – | | 1 |
| United States | – | – | – | – | 6th | 9th | 12th | 3rd | 8th | 9th | 6th | – | 4th | 14th | – | | 9 |
| Wales | – | – | – | – | 12th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | |
    ^ = includes results representing West Germany between 1974 and 1990
    # = states that have since split into two or more independent nations

## Debut of teams

| Year | Debuting teams | Debuting teams | Debuting teams | Successor and renamed teams |
| Year | Teams | No. | CT | Successor and renamed teams |
| 1974 | Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, West Germany^ | 10 | 10 | |
| 1976 | Italy, Nigeria | 2 | 12 | |
| 1978 | Canada, Czechoslovakia*, Japan | 3 | 15 | |
| 1981 | Australia, Soviet Union* | 2 | 17 | |
| 1983 | England, New Zealand, Scotland, United States, Wales | 5 | 22 | |
| 1986 | Ireland | 1 | 23 | |
| 1990 | China, South Korea | 2 | 25 | |
| 1994 | Russia# | 1 | 26 | Germany |
| 1998 | South Africa | 1 | 27 | |
| 2002 | Ukraine# | 1 | 28 | |
| 2006–2018 | No debuts | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Chile | 1 | 29 | |
    * = Defunct Team
    # = Part of Soviet Union (1974–1990)
    ^ = Germany is official successor of West Germany
Argentina, Germany and the Netherlands are the only teams to have competed at each World Cup; 28 teams have competed in at least one World Cup.