A WIN FOR THE WOMEN IN THEIR FINAL MATCH OF THE WORLD CUP
The Vantage Black Sticks Women have finished their 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup campaign in 15th place after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Chile in their final match in Belgium.
While the final tournament placing is well below where the group wanted to finish, the Vantage Black Sticks showed plenty of character to come from behind and finish their World Cup with a positive result.
New Zealand made a strong start and took the lead through Kaitlin Cotter, whose penalty corner flick took a deflection off a Chilean defender and into the back of the net.
Chile responded to level the scores before taking the lead in the third quarter, leaving the Vantage Black Sticks with work to do heading into the final stages of the match.
The response came through Riana Pho, who once again showed her danger from the top of the circle, firing home a powerful penalty corner flick to bring New Zealand level.
With the match heading towards a shootouts, the Vantage Black Sticks continued to push for a winner. Their persistence was rewarded with just over three minutes remaining when Paige Blake's shot was saved by the Chilean goalkeeper, but Katie Doar stayed with the play and reacted quickest to finish the rebound and secure a 3-2 victory.
Captain Olivia Shannon said she was proud of the way the group stuck together to finish the tournament with a win.
“Really proud of how we united as a group and finished the World Cup with a strong performance. It’s been a tough World Cup and we’re disappointed with the result, but there have been plenty of learnings and challenges along the way. Lots to reflect on, learn from and build on as we look towards the next 12 months and beyond.”
Head Coach Phil Burrows was honest about the final result but said the focus now turns to learning from the campaign and improving.
“Finishing 15th is really disappointing and well below where we want to be. It was good to finish on a positive note with a win over Chile, but across the tournament we were far too inconsistent.
“We own that performance and where we finished. We will debrief the campaign thoroughly, identify the opportunities to improve, and make sure we come back a better team.”
The 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup has been a challenging campaign for the Vantage Black Sticks Women, but the final victory over Chile ensures the group leaves Belgium with a positive performance to build from.
Attention will now turn to reviewing the campaign, learning from the experiences of the past two weeks and continuing the work to grow and develop as a group over the next 12 months and beyond.
New Zealand Goal Scorers: WOMEN
10' Kaitlin Cotter - Penalty Corner Goal
50' Riana Pho - Penalty Corner Goal
57' Katie Doar - Field Goal