Men’s and Women’s teams lose heartbreakers in Santiago
After the first round on both the women’s and men’s side of the tournament, there was a lot of potential. Early losses from Canada didn’t spell disaster yet, in fact both teams showed quality in defense and some attacking prowess. But the fact remains in a short tournament with only the top two in each pool advancing, a result was needed today. Neither the men or the women were able to get that crucial result and now sit on the outside looking in. When things don’t go your way, it can all happen so fast.
Poland’s Cinderella run continues against Canada
On Sunday, Poland (the lowest ranked team at the start of the tournament) kicked off the tournament with an upset over Korea, putting themselves in a position to get through the semis with a win against Canada. Canada fell to the tournament-favourite Ireland but still had a great opportunity to make it out of the pool. The stakes were all on this game, it quickly became a must-win match for both sides, only in the second round of the event.
The first half had a frenetic pace. Both teams challenging, neither able to create significantly. There was a lot of back and forth play between the 25s. The first crack showed at the end of the third quarter when Poland tossed an arial to the edge of Canada’s circle and Gracjan Jarzynski took it down and smashed the game’s opening goal. From that moment on, Canada needed to pressure to get even or take the lead. Canada pulled their keeper with 10 minutes remaining and promptly gave up a penalty corner (with no goalie). A low and hard PC strike from Tomasz Bembenek opened the lead to two.
Canada fought with everything for the last five minutes, earning PCs, a penalty stroke and even popping a last-minute goal off the stick of Jude Nicholson. But it was too little too late for the Red Caribou as they fell to the Poles 2-1. It was a thrilling match that Canada came out on the wrong side of. They watched through nervous fingers as Ireland defeated Korea, sealing Canada’s fate and ending their tournament hopes. Canada will not qualify for the World Cup this year. They will reset the batteries, finish this tournament hard and look towards LA2028 and the upcoming multi-year build.
Malaysia capitalizes on crucial chances and defeats Canada
After the first half of play, Malaysia led Canada 3-1. If you were tuned into this game, you would be feeling solid as a Canadian fan. Canada was in control of possession, had lots of circle entries and chances at the Malaysian net. Chloe Walton scored a beautiful goal in the 11th minute. Canada had penalty corner chances, including a beauty set piece that resulted in a post-and-out. There was lots to be excited about. On the other hand, Malaysia had countered well and scored some nice goals, capitalizing on the opportunities they had.
The second half was all Malaysia. With the lead, they were able to shut down on defense and lead some solid attacks, resulting in goals. Game MVP, Nur Azhar scored two goals and set up another she led her Malaysian side to a crucial second round victory. Malaysia closed the game out 6-1.
The young talent on display showed a lot of promise. Nicole Poulakis, Mikayla Stelling, Chloe Walton all shared chances in the circle and showed skill and pace up front. Anna Mollenhauer is as solid as ever and has a young supportive back line with Katie Gibb and Rylie Novak. Brooke McCusker and Kenzie Girgis are responsible for the midfield. These are among the core pieces that will be the future of the program for many years.
With Ireland’s win over Japan this afternoon in Chile, Canada is unfortunately mathematically eliminated from advancing to the medal rounds. Their World Cup hopes come to an end after two pool play matches. They have an opportunity to positively close out pool play against Ireland and look to the consolation crossover for an opportunity to develop this young core towards the future.
FOLLOW TEAM CANADA AT THE WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
The 2026 FIH Women’s and Men’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers are taking place in Santiago, Chile from March 1 to March 8, 2026. The teams that make the finals will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup as will the winner of the bronze medal match. After that, the highest world ranked 4th place team (between the qualifying events) after the final day of the qualifiers, will also qualify for the World Cup.
Watch Team Canada
All matches will be streamed live via FIH Watch Hockey. Both Canada’s Men’s National Team and Women’s National Team matches will be streamed live. You can subscribe by an event-to-event basis or get a yearly subscription to FIH Watch Hockey. All games and highlights will be streamed on this platform in Canada.
