The Argentine men’s and women’s national field hockey teams secured spots in the 2026 World Cup semifinals on Monday.
With both teams earning the results they needed to advance, Argentina became one of just two nations to have both teams in the semifinals — alongside one of the hosts, the Netherlands — in the simultaneous tournaments.
The Leonas started the second round with a leg up thanks to a first-round win against Germany, which qualified for the second round despite that loss to Argentina. After a solid 3-0 win against Spain on Saturday, all the Argentine team needed was a tie against the other hosts of the tournament, Belgium, to advance.
Without playing their best hockey, Argentina proved resilient in defense against a rival that pushed for a win, aiming to avoid a semifinal matchup against the Netherlands, the International Hockey Federation’s top-ranked team. A 0-0 tie proved enough for the Leonas to advance.
“It was a very tough match, but one of the best we’ve played,” said goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino after the match. The goalie was one of Argentina’s best players of the day, and was part of the team that beat Belgium in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to win a bronze medal.
