Netherlands:

In Lausanne, Switzerland, at the headquarters of the international field hockey federation FIH, the draw has been made for the men’s Under 21 World Cup. The tournament will take place from Nov. 28 to Dec. 10 in India, in the cities of Chennai and Madurai. When the draw was made, the Dutch youngsters ended up as group head in a group with England, Malaysia and Austria.

A slip in the group stage this time could be fatal. This has everything to do with the new tournament format that is being introduced this World Cup. For the first time, not 16, but 24 countries are participating. Only eight of them will advance to the quarter-finals: the six group winners and the top two.

In other words, there is hardly any room for error. One defeat in the group, for example against England, can be fatal. The four worst runners-up as well as all three and four runners-up go down to the losers’ round, where only places nine and lower are contested.

Chennai and Madurai

For the Dutch Junior Team this means being sharp from day one. The team of outgoing coach Jesse Mahieu will play the group stage in Madurai. The quarterfinals and all remaining matches for the world title will take place in Chennai, five hundred kilometers north.

At the previous World Under 21 Championship, which was played in Malaysia in 2023, the Netherlands finished fifth. The Netherlands has never won the tournament.