"VAN" (Sports Desk - 08.09.2025) :: The Oceania Cup 2025 came to a conclusion today in Darwin, Australia with New Zealand women and Australia men winning their respective competitions to be crowned the continental champions following 3-match series’ each. The win meant the Black Sticks women qualified for the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 as champions of Oceania.
With Australia men having already qualified for the World Cup via the FIH Hockey Pro League, New Zealand men, through their second place finish, joined their women’s side in qualifying for the upcoming World Cup.
The women’s competition at the Oceania Cup was an incredibly close affair, with neither team ceding an edge. The first match of the series was dominated by Australia, but it was New Zealand who took all three points, with captain Olivia Shannon’s final quarter goal making the difference. The second match followed a similar pattern, with Australia providing more attacking impetus, but struggling to find the back of the goal. Their breakthrough finally came late in the game as Mariah Williams scored in the 56th minute to secure a 1-0 win for the Hockeyroos.
With both teams registering a 1-0 win each, the standings heading into the final game were completely knotted. In a much more evenly balanced third match, Australia scored first near the end of the opening half, but constant New Zealand pressure finally paid off in the 53rd minute with Jessie Anderson scoring to level things up and send the series into a shoot-out.
New Zealand attackers were stellar in the shoot-outs, scoring on all 5 attempts, meaning one Grace O’Hanlon save, off the first of four Australian attempts, was enough to win the Oceania Cup 2025 for the Black Sticks, as well as getting them the qualification spot for the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026!
"The World Cup is so important for us, we didn't qualify for Paris last year and I think this series has shown that fight, that resilience, that energy that we've had from not qualifying for Paris," said captain Olivia Shannon after New Zealand's victory.
In the men’s competition Australia were dominant throughout, winning all three matches in the series comfortably. The first match was sealed with a 2-0 win, with one early goal by Lachlan Sharp and a second late one by Nathan Ephraums getting the Kookaburras all three points. While the Black Stick men started the second game brightly, Australia scored early once again to snatch the momentum. A goal in each quarter by the Kookaburras meant a late New Zealand goal in the final quarter counted for little more than consolation in a 4-1 loss.
New Zealand finally made their bright starts count in the third and final match of the men’s Oceania Cup with captain Sam Lane giving the visitors the lead through a field goal. But the Australian attack ran rampant in the second quarter with three goals from Jack Welch, Ky Willott and Blake Govers turning the tide for the Kookaburras. A fourth goal, scored by Tim Brand, in the third quarter ended the contest and Australia walked away with a 4-1 win and another Oceania Cup title. New Zealand however, didn’t go back empty handed as the direct World Cup qualification spot from Oceania belonged to them, since Australia had already qualified for the event through the FIH Hockey Pro League.
Kookaburras captain Jeremy Hayward, speaking after lifting the Oceania Cup trophy, said: "Really looking forward to the World Cup. For now we'll have a small break, we've got Hockey One, the national competition we'll play, and we'll enjoy in our separate teams and then we'll come together again come January."
World Cup Qualifications Update
New Zealand now become the seventh team to qualify for the women’s FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026. Belgium and Netherlands, on account of being hosts of the event, gained direct qualification. Germany and Argentina qualified through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League. USA secured qualification through the Pan American Cup and Spain qualified from the Eurohockey Championship. Continental championships in Africa and Asia will determine two more direct qualifiers for the event, with the remaining seven teams qualifying through the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in 2026.
Based on their performance at the Pan American Cup, EuroHockey Championships and the Oceania Cup the following women’s teams have qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026: Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Ireland, England, France, Italy, Wales, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland and Australia, with with four further sides qualifying from the ongoing Asia Cup.
New Zealand now become the seventh team to qualify for the men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026. Belgium and Netherlands, on account of being hosts of the event, gained direct qualification. Australia and Spain qualified through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League. Argentina secured qualification through the Pan American Cup and Germany qualified from the Eurohockey Championship. Continental championships in Africa and Asia will determine two more direct qualifiers for the event, with the remaining seven teams qualifying through the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in 2026.
Based on their performance at the Pan American Cup and the EuroHockey Championships, the following men’s teams have qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026: USA, Canada, Chile, France, England, Austria, Poland, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, with five further sides qualifying from Asia and one from the Africa.
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