In Pool B Ireland made a bright start to their qualifying hopes with a 5-2 win over Canada while Poland beat South Korea 3-2 in the other games in Santiago.

Nine teams have already qualified either from winning their respective continental championship in 2025 or through the FIH Pro League, with the Netherlands and Belgium qualifying as hosts.

There are two qualifying tournaments, each with eight countries divided into two pools of four based on their world ranking.

The top three teams from each tournament automatically qualify.

The highest world-ranked fourth-placed team across the two events will also earn a coveted World Cup berth.

In the other qualifying tournament in Egypt, England made light work of Japan as Tom Sorsby and Henry Croft both scored twice and Sam Ward grabbed a goal in a 5-0 win.

There were also wins for Malaysia, Pakistan and Egypt.