Lausanne (Switzerland), Dec 23 (NationPress) The Netherlands men's and women's teams have successfully held onto their top rankings, clinching numerous trophies and titles to fend off their competitors as the FIH World Rankings underwent significant changes in a pivotal year leading up to the 2026 World Cups.

The year 2025 was packed with high-stakes hockey, featuring the FIH Hockey Pro League and the Nations Cup, alongside Continental Championships across various continents, prompting considerable shifts in the World Rankings, according to the governing body's official site released on Tuesday.

As 2025 came to a close, established powerhouses solidified their standings while emerging teams made significant strides.

In the women’s rankings, the Netherlands (3809), who began the year at the top, held firm throughout with another exceptional season, adding more titles to their achievements from the Pro League and EuroHockey Championships. Meanwhile, Argentina (3326), Belgium (3109), and China (2977) remained in the second, third, and fourth positions respectively, maintaining their standings from the beginning of the year, per the FIH report.

Spain (2777) emerged as one of the biggest gainers in the top-10 rankings, climbing to fifth from eighth place! Their ascent came at the expense of Australia (2758), Germany (2734), and England (2510), all of whom dropped one position, finishing in sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively.

New Zealand (2319), having won the Women’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup and the Oceania Cup in 2025, ascended to ninth place, overtaking India (2315), who faced relegation in the Pro League that year. Meanwhile, Japan (2186) and the United States (2172) climbed two spots to eleventh and twelfth respectively, at the cost of Ireland (2030) and Chile (1999), who fell to thirteenth and fifteenth, with Scotland (2015) in fourteenth.

Korea (1864) held steady in sixteenth, followed by France (1742), who rose three spots after their victory in the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2. Italy (1737), Uruguay (1736), and South Africa (1670) rounded out the top-20, with Canada (1668) and Malaysia (1667) just outside the elite ranks!

In the men's rankings, the Netherlands (3376) and Belgium (3225) retained the top two spots, but many teams experienced upheavals beneath them compared to the start of the year! Germany (3116) moved up one position to third due to a successful EuroHockey campaign, followed by Argentina (3022), which rose to fourth from eighth! Australia (3007) and Spain (2995) each moved up one spot, landing in fifth and sixth, while England (2864) and India (2845) faced the steepest declines, having started the year in third and fifth positions, respectively, as reported.

France (2371) stayed at ninth, while New Zealand (2254) and Ireland (2246) swapped places since the year's outset. South Africa (2127) and Malaysia (2097) remained stable in twelfth and thirteenth.

After their promotion to the FIH Hockey Pro League, Pakistan (2034) climbed to fourteenth, followed by Wales (1989) and Korea (1981). Egypt (1956), following a remarkable debut at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2, made significant progress to seventeenth. Japan (1982), Canada (1863), and Scotland (1843) completed the top-20, with Austria (1805), Chile (1727), China (1723), Poland (1694), and the United States (1690) following closely behind.

The FIH introduced a new ranking calculation model on January 1, 2020, shifting from a tournament-based system to a dynamic, match-based approach. In this model, teams exchange points based on the match outcome, their relative rankings, and the match's significance. More details on the ranking model can be found below.

The points exchanged depend on the match outcome, team rankings, and match significance.

The calculations utilize the Elo rating system, which many other sports ranking systems also employ. When two teams compete, points are exchanged, with the points gained by one team equating to those lost by the other.

Teams earn more points for defeating higher-ranked teams, whereas they lose more points for being defeated by lower-ranked teams. Conversely, fewer points are awarded for winning against lower-ranked teams, and fewer points lost for losing to higher-ranked teams.

Final Year-end Rankings:

Men (top 10)

1. Netherlands

2. Belgium

3. Germany

4. Argentina

5. Australia

6. Spain

7. England

8. India

9. France

10. New Zealand

Women (top 10)

1. Netherlands

2. Argentina

3. Belgium

4. China

5. Spain

6. Australia

7. Germany

8. England

9. New Zealand

10. India