The Dutch women continued their dominance in the FIH Hockey Pro League with a 4-2 win over Spain in Rotterdam on Saturday, while the men completed a 5-3 victory over Germany.

Over in London in the battle to avoid relegation, Australia claimed a vital 3-0 win over England, so lifting them off the bottom of the table. There was better news for England’s men, who pulled off a shootout victory over Argentina.

And there was disappointment for the Belgian women in Wavre as Argentina beat them 3-2, while in the other match of the day, Spain secured a 4-2 win over Pakistan.

(Women’s) Belgium 2 – 3 Argentina

Belgium came back from two goals down but a final-minute goal for Argentina ensured they held on for a 3-2 win.

It was the Argentinians who were quick out the blocks. Julieta Jankunas looked to have lost control of the ball but recovered well to drill a powerful tomahawk from the top of the circle into the far corner, giving Argentina the lead in just the third minute.

Belgium responded well to falling behind, taking control of the game and enjoying the lion’s share of possession for the remainder of the first quarter, but they were unable to make it count. With no goals in the second period, Argentina took their 1-0 advantage into half-time.

After creating the better chances in the third quarter, the Argentinians were rewarded with just 30 seconds remaining before the final break when Agustina Gorzelany’s penalty-corner drag flick took a deflection off a Belgian defender and found the back of the net.

Belgium finally found a breakthrough in the 51^st minute after a superb run from Lottie Englebert, who surged downfield before slipping the ball to Famke Van Heel. She kept her composure to deftly lift the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. As the clock ticked down, Belgium earned a flurry of penalty corners and Englebert’s drag flick brought them level with three minutes remaining. But Argentina had the final say, with Gorzelany drilling home the winner from one final penalty corner with just 49 seconds left on the clock.

Argentina’s Agustina Gorzelany was named the Player of the Match and said: “It was a tough one. It is always tough to play against the best teams in Europe and Belgium is one of them. I think we built the game from the first minute until the end and I think we really deserved to win.”

(Women’s) Netherlands 4 – 2 Spain

Table-toppers the Netherlands logged a scrappy 4-2 win over Spain in Rotterdam.

The Dutch applied intense pressure in the first quarter, pressing high and disrupting Spanish exit play repeatedly. Their first goal came from an 80m breakout in the seventh minute, Marijn Veen carrying the ball most of the way on her own before linking up with Joosje Burg, who fed it back to her for a neat deflection over the goalkeeper. Freeke Moes added a ninth-minute tap-in and it looked like the floodgates might open. Spain recovered well to contest the second quarter hotly, and the Netherlands carried their 2-0 lead to the half-time break.

The Dutch had a couple of missed opportunities at the start of the second half before Spain pulled one back in the 37^th minute. It looked as though their penalty corner routine had broken down at the top of the circle, but they reworked it and found Teresa Lima for a scrappy dink in at the left post. Spain had another PC to draw level, but the Dutch kept it out before Pien Dicke restored their two-goal cushion when she hammered one home in the 43^rd minute. The Dutch regained almost full control in the final quarter and Yibbi Jansen secured the result with her 49th-minute drag flick. Spanish captain Xantal Gine had the final word when she clattered a penalty corner into the backboard at the death to round off a gutsy team performance.

Marijn Veen received the Player of the Match award for the Netherlands and said: “It was not our best match, I think we can do better. We can bring more energy, more concentration in midfield, so we are a bit critical after today.”

(Men’s) England 1 – 1 Argentina (SO: 3 – 1)

Argentina may have dominated the penalty corner count 9-1, but England put in a gritty performance to record a 1-1 draw before clinching the shootout 3-1.

A goalless first half certainly wasn’t dull, with a combined 21 circle entries. The Argentinians had arguably the better chances, including four penalty corners, and only a sharp reflex save by England’s James Mazarello from open play kept it 0-0 at half-time.

England had a goal disallowed for being struck with the back of the stick before Nick Bandurak finally nudged them ahead, reacting fastest to a loose ball on the goal line with five seconds remaining in the third quarter. Argentina then surged forward at the start of the fourth quarter, earning a flurry of penalty corners for their efforts. Oliver Payne and his courageous penalty corner runners did enough to keep most of them out, but Tomas Domene equalised with a big drag flick in the 50^th minute to set up an enthralling finish. There were no more goals though and the match went to a shootout where England prevailed.

Nick Bandurak was named the player of the match for England and said: “We’re happy to get over the line, maybe not in the way that we would have wanted at the start of the day, but we’re finding different ways to win this year and that’s huge for this group, so we’ll take it.”

(Men’s) Netherlands 5 – 3 Germany

The Netherlands gave their home crowd plenty to celebrate as they put five goals past Germany in Rotterdam.

Derck de Vilder pounced on a loose pass from a German defender and rifled the ball into the net from the top of the circle to give the Netherlands the lead in just the second minute.

The hosts continued to dominate as Germany struggled to cope with their pace. The Netherlands doubled their advantage in the 13^th minute when Jip Janssen converted a penalty corner with a drag down the middle, before striking again less than a minute later from another penalty corner to make it 3-0 by the end of the opening quarter.

Germany hit back in the second quarter when Justus Warwig capitalised on a turnover inside the circle and flicked the ball into the roof of the net in the 24^th minute.

The Netherlands restored their three-goal advantage just 23 seconds into the third quarter, with captain Thierry Brinkman on hand to tap home. With the momentum swinging both ways, Malte Hellwig managed to close the gap once again for Germany with a 35^th-minute field goal.

The Germans pulled their goalkeeper in search of more goals as time ticked away, but the move backfired when Duco Telgenkamp finished off a counterattack into the empty net in the 56^th minute. And while Teo Hinrichs scored off a German penalty corner three minutes later, it was too late to make any difference.

The player of the match was awarded to the Netherlands’ Derck de Vilder, who said: “I think the difference was that we scored our chances and I think that’s a good step for us. Also nice for Jip [Janssen] but it was a good start and I think a step forward.”

(Men’s) Spain 4 – 2 Pakistan

Spain had to come from behind in their entertaining 4-2 win over Pakistan, with the stats suggesting they should have walked away with a much better result. They led circle entries by 39 to 12 and earned 12 penalty corners to Pakistan’s three.

Pakistan created an early half chance while Spain had three good shots and a penalty stroke in a goalless first quarter. Pakistan then endured a long period under pressure before opening the scoring in the 27^th minute, Abu Mahmood bulleting his drag flick low at the post defender. Spain responded immediately through a Pepe Cunill drag flick and the scores were locked 1-1 at half-time.

Alejandro Alonso cleaned up the scraps from a saved penalty corner to give Spain the lead in the 35^th minute, and lovely inter-passing on a fast counterattack allowed Nicolas Alvarez to walk the ball into an empty goal. Abu Baker reduced the deficit to one goal with his 44^th-minute drag flick, and Pakistan then missed a clear chance to equalise in the 49^th minute. Spain immediately got down the other end where Pol Cabre threaded a lovely pass to Alvarez, who steered the ball in for his brace.

Spain’s Ignacio Cobos received the player of the match nomination and said: “It was important for us, this win, the points. It was a tough match under the sun, it hit hard today. We didn’t play our best game, but at the end, points, and let’s go for the next one.”

(Women’s) England 0 – 3 Australia

Australia posted a significant 3-0 win over England in the relegation fight, leapfrogging above England, who currently find themselves in the bottom spot.

Claire Colwill scored the opening goal for Australia in the ninth minute when a blocked drag flick popped into her arc for a big slap in from the top of the circle. Alice Arnott doubled their lead with a fabulous deflection from open play in the 17^th before the Hockeyroos survived a period of huge English pressure, including three penalty corners and a penalty stroke. Colwill completed her brace with another drag flick in the 27^th minute to give Australia a 3-0 lead at half-time.

A goalless second half saw England fail to take any reward from 10 penalty corners, and they scored none from 13 in the match. Jocelyn Bartram did her bit in Australia’s goal to ensure that, and Miriam Pritchard kept England in the hunt with some fine goalkeeping of her own.

The Player of the Match award went to Australia’s Stephanie Kershaw who said: “It was really important, you know, we’re battling down the bottom end of the points table so these were crucial points for us, so we’re really proud of ourselves to get the win today.”

Current Hero Top Scorers:

Women – Yibbi Jansen (NED) (11 goals)

Men – Tomas Domene (ARG) (16 goals)

To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Pro League, click here.

FIH Hockey Pro League – 20 June 2026

Belfius Hockey Area, Wavre (BEL)

Women

Result: Match 49 (W)

Belgium 2 – 3 Argentina

Player of the match: Agustina Gorzelany (ARG)

Umpires: Lizelotte Wolter (NED), Ben Grant (NZL), James Unkles (AUS-video)

Men

Result: Match 51 (M)

Spain 4 – 2 Pakistan

Player of the match: Ignacio Cobos (ESP)

Umpires: Maggie Giddens (USA), Daniel Veerman (NED), Ben Grant (NZL-video)

HC Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NED)

Women

Result: Match 50 (W)

Netherlands 4 – 2 Spain

Player of the match: Marijn Veen (NED)

Umpires: Tamara Leonard (AUS), Rawi Anbananthan (MAS), Juan Pedro Rodriguez (ARG-video)

Men

Result: Match 49 (M)

Netherlands 5 – 3 Germany

Player of the match: Derck de Vilder (NED)

Umpires: Aleisha Neumann (AUS), Dan Barstow (ENG), Juan Pedro Rodriguez (ARG-video)

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, London (UK)

Men

Result: Match 50 (M)

England 1 – 1 Argentina (SO: 3 – 1)

Player of the match: Nicholas Bandurak (ENG)

Umpires: Alison Keogh (IRL), Ayden Shrives (RSA), Lorijn de Kraker (NED-video)

Women

Result: Match 51 (W)

England 0 – 3 Australia

Player of the match: Stephanie Kershaw (AUS)

Umpires: Lisette Baljon (NED), Ivona Makar (CRO), Paul van den Assum (NED-video)