Which are the most successful teams in Men's Hockey World Cup history?

A look at the successful nation teams that have finished in the top four positions in the history of the World Cup.

Hockey Men's World Cup opening ceremony (HI)

24 teams in total have qualified for the Men's Hockey World Cup in the tournament's history. While 11 of these teams have made at least one semifinal appearance, 8 have made it to the final of the global event.

Here, we take a look at all the previous winners of the Men's Hockey World Cup.

Format

Broadly, the World Cup consists of two stages: the qualification stage and the final tournament stage. In the qualification round, top 2 teams of each pool is automatically qualified, and the the others compete for a spot in the playoffs.

During the final stage of tournament, pools are once again divided between the qualified teams, and continental champions. They compete in a round-robin format in the first round within their pools, play a classification round thereafter, and finally a second round that decides the final standings of the tournament.

Most Successful Teams

Pakistan remains the most successful team so far, with four titles from six appearances in the finals. It is followed by the Netherlands and Australia, which have won the title three times each. Germany has won it twice, and India and Belgium have each won it once.

Podium finishes: Nation-wise Record

Team	Winners	Runners-Up	Third Place	Fourth Place
Pakistan	4 Times (1971, 1978, 1982, 1994)	2 Times ( 1975, 1990*)		1 Time (1973)
Netherlands	3 Times ( 1973, 1990, 1998)	4 Times ( 1978, 1994, 2014*, 2018)	2 Times (2002, 2010)	1 Time (1982)
Australia	3 Times ( 1986, 2010, 2014)	2 Times (2002, 2006)	5 Times (1978, 1982, 1990, 1994*, 2018)	1 Time (1998)
Germany	2 Times ( 2002, 2006*)	2 Times (1982, 2010)	4 Times (1973, 1975, 1986, 1998)	3 Times ( 1978, 1990, 1994)
India	1 Time (1975)	1 Time (1973)	1 Time (1971)
Belgium	1 Time (2018)
Spain		2 Times (1971*, 1998)	1 Time (2006)
England		1 Time (1986*)		3 Times (2010, 2014, 2018)
Argentina			1 Time (2014)
South Korea				2 Times ( 2002, 2006)
Kenya				1 Time (1971)
Malaysia				1 Time (1975*)
Soviet Union				1 Time ( 1986*)

*Host Country

Sports

States