Which team has won the most Hockey World Cup titles?

Leading up to the 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29, here is all about the nation that has the most men’s hockey world cup titles.

Pakistan won the first World Cup held in Barcelona on October 24, 1971 and its captain Khalid Mahmood received it. To his right is Spain’s captain and to his left is India’s skipper, whose teams finished second and third respectively. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES

As the build-up for the 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29, continues, here is all about the team that has won the most men’s hockey world cup titles.

Pakistan has won the Men’s World Cup four times, the most by any team. Netherlands and Australia are joint-second with three titles each.

Here are Pakistan’s World Cup wins:

• 1971: Pakistan won the inaugural Men’s Hockey World Cup in 1971, beating Spain 1-0 in the final in Barcelona with Akhtarul Islam scoring the winning goal in the 26th minute.

• 1978: Pakistan defeated Netherlands 3-2 in a cosely-fought final in Buenos Aires. Rana Eshanullah, scored the winning goal and helped Pakistan get its second World title. Pakistan’s goal difference of 31 (35 for, four against) remains a World Cup record till date. The number of goals scored by Pakistan was also a record, which was bettered by them (38) in the next edition.

• 1982: Pakistan underlined its supremacy in the sport by retaining the title and winning the coveted trophy for a third time in Bombay (now Mumbai). The defending champion, rallied from 0-1 to defeat West Germany 3-1 in the summit clash.

• 1994: After 13 years of not being able to secure a World Cup title, Pakistan avenged its previous World Cup final loss to Netherlands via penalties after a 1-1 deadlock in Sydney. This was Pakistan’s fourth title and till date, remains the most successful side in the history of the event.