We are less than 10 minutes away from the scheduled start time of the India-Argentina clash. Stay tuned, action coming up shortly!

Yesterday, the Indian women's hockey team crashed out of the semi-final race of the Women's Hockey World Cup 2026 after a 0-0 draw with Australia. They finished on the same points and goal difference as the Aussies, but lost out on goals for.

India's women's team will compete in the fifth place match.

Here's India's starting XI for their final Pool E match against Argentina:

Here's your Indian Men's Team Starting XI for the must-win Round 2 clash against Argentina in Pool E at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026.

Just over 30 minutes to pushback!

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— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 24, 2026

A major concern for India in the ongoing competition has been their inability to convert possession into proper goal-scoring chances. Even in the match against Netherlands, they looked comfortable with the ball in possession but the lack of chances meant that they were outplayed by the opponent. While India struggled with their finishing, Netherlands won the match by scoring thrice.

India need at least a four-goal swing between their result and England's for them to qualify for the semifinals. If India win 3-1 against Argentina, they would have scored six goals and conceded eight. In that case, if England lose 0-2, they would have scored five goals and conceded seven. India would go through on the basis of having scored more goals.

Under the new World Cup format, the top two teams from Pool E will advance to the semifinals. The Netherlands have already secured their place in the last four with six points. For India, the path will be anything by simple.

Here are what needs to happen for India to qualify for the Hockey World Cup 2026:

- India need to win by at least two goals against Argentina today to leapfrog them in goals for and goal difference
- India need England to lose to Netherlands by three goals or more; a two-goal loss for England also works as long as England's goals for is less than India's

India currently sit bottom of Pool E in the second round, after losses against both England and Netherlands. Their goal difference of -4 is a big problem, as a small win won't be enough to boost that. 

A very warm welcome to one and all to a very, very important match in the Men's Hockey World Cup 2026. India must secure a big win over Argentina in their Pool E clash in order to stay alive in the semi-final running.

Stay tuned to NDTV Sports for all the live updates from the match.