World Cup 2026: Los Leones’ rivals in the group stage

Los Leones’ rivals in the next World Cup in August are already known. Argentina shares the group A together with Netherlands (1st), New Zealand (11th) and Japan (14th)and will begin playing on Dutch soil. Although the fixture is not yet known, we review how the Argentine team fared against these rivals.

Argentina participated in 15 editions, without qualifying in 1998, while Netherlands He competed in all editions until now. New Zealand played 12, while Japan six. The last two teams did not manage to get on a World Cup podium, while The Lions did it in 2014, where they won the bronze medal. The Dutch did it 10 times: 1973, 1978 and 1998 they lifted the cup; In 1982 and 2010 they finished second, and in 1973, 1975, 1986 and 1994 they achieved bronze, being the team with the most podium finishes in history.

Netherlands was classified as host, while New Zealand and Argentina for their respective continental tournaments. The Oceanic team, despite losing in the final with Australia, had already gotten the place because the Kookaburras They had qualified with a place in the Pro League. Japan He finished third in the Pre-World Cup in Egypt and earned his place in the 2026 World Cup.

Japan

Number 14 in the international ranking, They shared the group stage in the 2006 World Cupwhich the Asian team won 4 to 3, Rodrigo Vila (x2) and Lucas Cammareri scored for the albiceleste team. It was the only time they met in the first phase of the tournamentand the other two times they played against each other was in 1971 for ninth and tenth place, which was a victory for Japan 2 to 0, and in 1973 for the same position, that time Argentina won 2 to 1. The winning percentage – in all tournaments – against Japan is 83.3% (approximately).

New Zealand

Number 11 in the FIH rankingthe first time they faced Argentina was in 1982, where they shared a group and the national team won 5 to 3. In 1986 they tied 1 to 1 in the group A match, and in 2002 the result was 3 to 1 in favor of Argentina. Jorge Lombi was one of the scorers of that World Cup with 10 goals. In 2006, with a goal Facundo Callionithey narrowly surpassed the oceanic country (group A). In 2014 they shared group B and it was a national victory by 3 to 1, with three goals from Gonzalo Peillat. The last time they shared the group stage was in 2018, and Argentina won 3-0. Taking all competitions into account, The Lions have a match winning percentage of approximately 66.7% with New Zealand.

Netherlands

Number 1 in the ranking. They shared a group in seven World Cups, tying 0-0 in 1973 and 3-3 in 1990 (goals from Carlos Geneyro, Fernando Ferrara and Alec Doherty). On the other five occasions it was a victory for the Dutch team: in 1978 it was 3 to 2, in 1986 1 to 0, in 2002 2 to 1, in 2010 3 to 0 and in 2014 3 to 1. In that same World Cup, The Lions reached the semifinal, and after losing to Australia they went for the bronze against England. With two goals from Matias Paredes They took third place. With the Netherlands the winning average is lower, it is estimated around 22.2%.