The 2025-26 FIH Hockey Pro League came to life with exciting action on the stages of Dublin (Ireland) and Santiago del Estero (Argentina) as the seventh season of “The League of the Best” unfolded in early December.
Dublin: Early Statements and Historical Moments
The opening days in Ireland produced powerful displays from some of the sport’s elite teams. The Belgian men’s and women’s teams set the tone early on, with both countries playing their opening matches in dominant fashion as the Belgian men defeated Germany 4-1 and the women took care of England in a 3-0 victory. Standout individual performances were the focus of the opening stages, including Charlotte Englebert and Elena Sotgiu reaching 100 caps for Belgium, Christopher Ruhr and Victor Wegnez being capped 200 times by Germany and Belgium, while Alix Gerniers achieved a 300th cap for Belgium as a topper!
As the Dublin stage progressed, the momentum continually swung through the tightly contested matches. The German men found form with a convincing 4-1 win over England, and the Belgian women held their own against debutants Ireland and England, winning all four of their matches to make a perfect start. Ireland in particular showed grit in front of a passionate home crowd, pushing higher-ranked sides and celebrating defensive milestones amid spirited performances, notably not losing a single match by more than a single goal. The England women started with three defeats, one of which came in a shoot-out, but finished strongly by beating Ireland in their final match of the Dublin leg.
The men from England and Germany each shared a victory in their mutual matches. The Belgian men almost had a perfect opener with two wins over Germany and another over England. Their only outlier was a 2-2 draw against England, which followed a shootout defeat. The Irish women also claimed their first ever Pro League points in a thrilling 1-1 draw against England, sealed by a 4-3 shootout win, to cap a very positive start to their debut season in the FIH Hockey Pro League.
Santiago del Estero: magical and clinical finishes for the home
Meanwhile in Argentina, the hosts captivated local audiences with memorable performances. The Lions were particularly stellar winning three of their four matches, with one come-from-behind draw against the Netherlands, which was followed by a decisive 4-2 shootout win, which thrilled the home crowd. The Leon also excelled, recording two wins over Germany, one outright and one via a shoot-out.
The home crowd also cheered with joy as Sofía Toccalino and Julieta Jankunas completed 200 caps for the Leonas. Their lone loss came against the Netherlands. A second match between the two would have given the home side a chance to avenge the loss, but the match was canceled due to severe weather conditions.
Debutants Pakistan produced many positives in the first four matches and brought with them their traditional end-to-end hockey style. Although they left the Argentina leg without scoring any points, they did lay a solid foundation for what will be a long season, especially on the attacking side, where they averaged two goals per game in the opening stages. The story was similar for the German women’s side, who registered one point from their four matches, but they kept their higher-ranked opponents close in all four matches and will have plenty of positives to take into the season.
The Dutch women’s side continued to run smoothly, winning all three matches, with a particularly impressive 4-0 victory over rivals Argentina. They also celebrated ace drag flicker Yibbi Jansen who reached 100 career caps for the national team! Meanwhile, the Dutch men scored in both their games against Pakistan, with Terrance Pieters earning his 100th cap in one of the wins, but two defeats against Argentina, one in the regular season and one in the shoot-outs, saw their hopes of retaining the FIH Hockey Pro League title suffer a slight defeat early in the season.
Snapshot of Season 7 points table
After the opening rounds at both venues, the early standings reflect the fierce competition at the top:
Men’s ranking highlights
Argentina leads the men’s table with 11 points, with Belgium follows closely with 10 points. The Netherlands are third with 7, followed by England and Germany with 5 and 3 points respectively Pakistan must open their account early in the season.
Women’s rankings (early indicators)
With four wins in four games, Belgium has made its best start with 12 points. The Netherlands continues to dominate, winning all three matches and taking second place with 9 points. Argentina are in third place with five points from their three matches, followed by England with four points, Ireland with two and Germany with one point.
To see the current rankings click here.
Looking ahead: next phases and fixture blocks
Season 7 resumes on February 5 in China and Spain, with China, England, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and Germany (women), along with Spain, England and Netherlands (men). Shortly afterwards, stages in Australia and India will follow, where many more teams will be in action. To see the full schedule click here.
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