Argentina had also beaten India 8-0 and 4-2 in the FIH Pro League in Rourkela earlier this year
Published: August 24, 2026, 9:21 PM IST
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India vs Argentina(Credits: Hockey India/X)
India’s men’s hockey team saw their hopes of reaching the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 semi-finals end after a 3-5 defeat to Argentina on MondayIndia needed to win by at least three goals to stay in the race, but two early goals put them on the back foot and they could not recover.
Argentina took the lead in just 39 seconds through Joaquin ToscaniThe forward received the ball on the right and fired it past goalkeeper Mohit HSIndia then gave away a penalty corner in the third minute after a mistake by Jarmanpreet Singh inside the circleMohit saved Tomas Domene’s flick.
Argentina doubled their lead in the sixth minute when Nicolas Della Torre converted another penalty cornerIndia responded quickly, with Sukhjeet Singh pulling one back in the 10th minute after receiving a pass from Abhishek.
India had chances in the second quarter but poor passing and loss of possession continued to hurt themA promising move involving Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh broke down, while Dilpreet Singh also failed to control a pass during another counterattack.
The score remained 2-1 at half-time, leaving India needing a strong second half.
Argentina, however, started the third quarter on the front footDomene scored in the 33rd minute with a reverse hit after another defensive lapse from IndiaThe goal was his seventh of the tournament, taking him past Harmanpreet’s tally of six.
India then earned four penalty corners in quick succession but failed to convert any of themHarmanpreet’s attempts were blocked or went over the goal, while another Indian chance went wide.
Domene struck again in the 45th minute, this time from a penalty stroke after the ball hit Yashdeep inside the circleIt was his eighth goal of the tournament.
Argentina added a fifth goal in the 53rd minute through Lucas Toscani, who found space inside the circle before finishing with a reverse hit.
India tried to fight back late in the matchSukhjeet scored his second goal in the 58th minute after receiving a pass from Mandeep SinghHardik then converted a penalty stroke a minute later to make it 5-3.
But the late comeback was not enoughIndia’s defensive mistakes, poor passing and missed chances had already put the match beyond their reach.
India finished fourth in Pool E without a point from three matches and were knocked out of semi-final contentionThe Netherlands had already qualified for the last four, while the second semi-finalist was to be decided by the Netherlands’ final match against England.
The defeat also continued Argentina’s recent dominance over IndiaThey had beaten India 8-0 and 4-2 in the FIH Pro League in Rourkela earlier this year.
India will now play for seventh or eighth place at the World Cup
