Dutch Retain Top Spots, India Men Suffer Sharp Drop -- A Look At How FIH World Rankings Shook Things Up In 2025

Dutch retain top spots, India men suffer sharp drop -- a look at how FIH World Rankings shook things (Image Source: IANS)

FIH Hockey Pro League: The Netherlands men and women teams maintained their top positions, winning trophies and titles to keep chasers at bay as the FIH World Rankings experienced many upheavals in a crucial year before the 2026 World Cups.

International hockey in 2025 delivered a relentless calendar of top-flight action — from the FIH Hockey Pro League battles to Nations Cup and Nations Cup 2 drama, along with Continental Championships across all continents—sparking notable shifts in the World Rankings, the sport's global governing body reported on its official website on Tuesday.

As the year wound to a close, across both the men’s and women’s games, familiar powers consolidated their positions while emerging teams made meaningful gains.

In the women’s rankings, the Netherlands (3809), who started the year in the top spot, maintained their stranglehold throughout the year with another stellar season where they added more trophies to their cabinet with championship runs at the Pro League and the EuroHockey Championships. In contrast, Argentina (3326), Belgium (3109), and China (2977), with great continental championship and Pro League campaigns, continue in the second, third, and fourth places respectively, where they started the year, the FIH report said.

Spain (2777) are amongst the biggest gainers of the year among the top-10 rankings, as they find themselves in the fifth spot, having started the year in eighth! Spain’s climb comes at the expense of Australia (2758), Germany (2734), and England (2510), who have all dropped one place from where they started the year, ending it in sixth, seventh, and eighth spots.

New Zealand (2319), who won the Women’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup and the Oceania Cup in 2025, have climbed to ninth place above India (2315), who suffered Pro League relegation in 2025. Japan (2186) and the United States (2172) are up two places to eleventh and twelfth at the expense of Ireland (2030) and Chile (1999), who are down to thirteenth and fifteenth, with Scotland (2015) in fourteenth, the report added.

Korea (1864) remain in sixteenth, followed by France (1742), whose triumph at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 saw them climb three spots up. Italy (1737), Uruguay (1736), and South Africa (1670) round out the top-20, with Canada (1668) and Malaysia (1667) just outside!

In the men’s rankings, the Netherlands (3376) and Belgium (3225) continue to hold the top two spots, but there are plenty of shake-ups below compared to the start of the year! Germany (3116) are up one spot to third following a successful EuroHockey campaign, followed by Argentina (3022), who are up to fourth after starting the year in eighth spot! Australia (3007) and Spain (2995) are up one spot each in fifth and sixth, followed by England (2864) and India (2845), who suffered the biggest drops, having started the year in third and fifth spots respectively, as per the report.

France (2371) remain in the ninth, while New Zealand (2254) and Ireland (2246) have swapped places with each other since the start of the year. South Africa (2127) and Malaysia (2097) remain steady in twelfth and thirteenth.

Following their promotion to the FIH Hockey Pro League, Pakistan (2034) are up one place to fourteenth, followed by Wales (1989) and Korea (1981). Egypt (1956), who had a stellar debut at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2, are big movers for the year, finding themselves in seventeenth. Japan (1982), Canada (1863), and Scotland (1843) round out the top-20, with Austria (1805), Chile (1727), China (1723), Poland (1694), and the United States (1690) occupying the next five spots.

The rankings calculation model that FIH introduced on January 1, 2020, moved away from the previous tournament-based rankings system to a dynamic, match-based method where opposing teams exchange points in official, FIH-sanctioned games. The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams, and the importance of the match. More information about the new ranking model can be found below.

The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams, and the importance of the match.

The calculations are based on the Elo rating system, which is used as the basis of many other sports ranking systems. When two nations play against each other, several ranking points are exchanged between them, and in every match, the number of points gained by one team is exactly matched by the number of points lost by the other.

Teams will win more points for beating teams ranked above them, and therefore, teams will lose more points for losing to a team ranked below them. Teams will win fewer points for beating teams ranked below them, and therefore, teams will lose fewer points for losing to a team ranked above them.

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

7. Germany

10. India

Article Source: IANS