LAHORE: Pakistan have been placed alongside arch-rivals India in Pool ‘D’ after the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the groupings for this year’s World Cup, scheduled to be jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands in August.

According to an official announcement, Pakistan will face India, England and Wales in what is being viewed as one of the most competitive pools of the tournament.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), in a press release issued here on Tuesday, said the groups were finalised following a transparent draw process.

“The Pakistan hockey team has been placed in the challenging Pool ‘D’, where they will face formidable opponents including traditional rivals India, England and Wales,” the PHF stated.

The inclusion of both Pakistan and India in the same pool is expected to generate significant global interest, with the much-anticipated clash between the two sides set to take place at the world level after several years.

Pakistan’s recent struggles and lower international ranking had limited opportunities to face top-ranked teams prior to their participation in this year’s FIH Pro League.

Hockey followers are particularly looking forward to the Pakistan-India encounter, traditionally regarded as one of the sport’s biggest rivalries.

FIH World Cup pools:

Pool ‘A’: Netherlands, Argentina, New Zealand and Japan; Pool ‘B’: Belgium, Germany, France and Malaysia; Pool ‘C’: Australia, Spain, Ireland and South Africa; Pool ‘D’: India, Pakistan England and Wales.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026

MEXICO CITY: Iran’s football federation is in discussions with FIFA about moving their World Cup matches to Mexico from the United States due to concerns about the safety of their players, Iranian football president Mehdi Taj has said.

Iran’s participation in the global showpiece event was thrown into doubt after co-hosts the US launched joint airstrikes on the country along with Israel on Feb 28.

US President Donald Trump said last week that Iran were welcome to participate but suggested it might not be appropriate for them to play in the US “for their own life and safety”.

“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” said Taj in a post on the Iranian embassy in Mexico’s X account.

“We are negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico.”

FIFA did not confirm any specifics.

“FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on Dec 6, 2025,” a FIFA spokesperson told Reuters.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Tuesday that her country was prepared to host Iran’s first-round matches at the World Cup if needed due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Asked at a press conference about reports that Iran’s football federation was negotiating with FIFA to relocate its matches from the US, Sheinbaum said that her country could respond favourably.

Huge logistical switch

Iran secured a trip to a fourth successive World Cup by topping their group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.

The tournament is due to kick off on June 11 in the US, Canada and Mexico, with Iran scheduled to play two group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand are Iran’s opponents in Group ‘G’.

The organising committees for matches in Los Angeles and Seattle did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal US business hours.

The prospect of shifting Iran’s fixtures to Mexico would mark a significant logistical switch for the tournament, though relocating matches for security or geopolitical reasons is not unprecedented.

In September last year, Scotland secured a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Belarus at Zalaegerszeg near the Austrian and Slovenian borders, after a ruling by UEFA over the role of Belarus as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In other sports, soured political relations between India and Pakistan means the nuclear-armed neighbours in South Asia only face each other at neutral venues in multi-team events of the ICC.

India refused to travel to Pakistan for last year’s ICC Champions Trophy and were allowed to play all their matches in Dubai instead in accordance with an ICC-endorsed hybrid model agreed upon with Pakistan. As agreed upon in the model, the latter played all their matches of this year’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, who were the joint hosts alongside India.

Fedaration Decides

Should FIFA reject a switch of venue to Mexico, it seems unlikely that Iran would travel to the US and take part in the tournament while at war with one of the co-hosts.

Iran’s sports minister said last week it was not possible for the Iranian players to participate after the US launched airstrikes alongside Israel against Tehran, killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

An official withdrawal would be the first in the modern era and leave FIFA with the urgent task of finding a replacement. The Asian Football Confe­deration said on Monday that it had not received any notification that Iran will withdraw.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026

The Iranian women’s football team arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday on their ​way home from Malaysia, after five ‌players withdrew the asylum claims they had lodged in Australia.

Australia granted humanitarian visas to six players ​and one support staff member after ​they sought asylum, saying they feared persecution if ⁠they returned to Iran.

Concerns over their ​safety surfaced after several players failed to sing ​the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month.

Five of the group have since ​changed their minds and decided to return ​home, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on ‌Monday.

They ⁠rejoined the rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur, where the team had been staying since leaving Sydney last week, leaving ​only two players ​still ⁠in Australia.

The team’s Asian Cup campaign began just as the United ​States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, ​assassinating ⁠supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament over a week ago.

It ⁠was ​not clear how the team ​would continue their journey home to neighbouring Iran from ​Istanbul.