World Cup debutantes Cuba take on Olympic silver medallist Korea in the curtain raiser to the 10th Men’s World Cup 2002 on Feb 24.
Later the same day, defending champions the Netherlands open their account against New Zealand while host nation Malaysia face the Aussies.
The fixtures for next year’s tournament were unveiled today by His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah, World Cup organising committee chairman and Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) President.
Also present during the event at Malaysian Tourism Centre were Youth and Sports Minister Dato’ Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Dato’ Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, officials from the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the MHF, corporate sponsors and the media.
The 10th Men’s World Cup is featuring for the first time an enlarged field of 16 nations divided into two pools of eight teams.
They are scheduled to play a total of 72 matches over 13 days. The final is on March 9.
All matches will be held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Seating at the Main Stadium will be increased by 3,000 temporary seats to 15,000 while an additional 2,800 temporary seats will increase the capacity at Second Stadium to 4,800.
In the other five opening day matches, England line up against Poland, the Pakistanis square up against South Africa, Utrecht ‘98 runner-up Spain meet Belgium, European champion Germany face off against the Argentines, and India play Japan in an all-Asian encounter.
Speaking at the event, MHF Deputy President and Organising Committee Deputy Chairman Tan Sri P. Alagendra said the unveiling of the fixtures represented a step closer to the World Cup.
“I’m sure all the managers, coaches and players have been shaping their preparations according to their preliminary round opponents,” he said.
"After today, they will be able to do more. Much, much more. The battlelines have now been drawn and the strategists will now be harder at work.
After all the sweat and toil in training, friendly matches and lead-up tournaments, team managers and coaches will finally see that light ahead in the tunnel."
Under the 2x8 format, each team play seven pool matches, followed by crossover classification play-offs before the final classification matches.
The top two teams in each pool qualify for the semifinals while the 3rd and 4th fight for the 5th - 8th places, the 5th and 6th for the 9th - 12th places, and the last two teams battle for the 13th - 16th places.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Pool A
Argentina
Belgium
Germany
Netherlands
New Zealand
Pakistan
South Africa
Spain
Pool B
Australia
Cuba
England
India
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Poland
Sun, Feb 24
8.15am Cuba vs Korea
8.35am England vs Poland
4.05pm Pakistan vs South Africa
4.35pm Belgium vs Spain
6.05pm Germany vs Argentina
6.35pm Netherlands vs New Zealand
8.05pm Japan vs India
8.35pm Malaysia vs Australia
Mon, Feb 25
**4.05pm Pakistan vs Belgium **
6.05pm South Africa vs Germany
6.35pm New Zealand vs Spain
8.05pm Netherlands vs Argentina
Tues, Feb 26
4.05pm Korea vs India
6.05pm Japan vs Malaysia
6.35pm Australia vs England
8.05pm Poland vs Cuba
Wed, Feb 27
8.05am Belgium vs Netherlands
8.35am Argentina vs South Africa
4.05pm Germany vs Spain
4.35pm Malaysia vs India
6.05pm Poland vs Australia
**6.35pm Pakistan vs New Zealand **
8.05pm England vs Cuba
8.35pm Korea vs Japan
Thur, Feb 28
4.05pm Spain vs Netherlands
6.05pm South Africa vs New Zealand
**6.35pm Argentina vs Pakistan **
8.05pm Belgium vs Germany
Fri, Mar 1
4.05pm Australia vs Cuba
5.35pm Poland vs Japan
6.05pm England vs India
8.05pm Malaysia vs Korea
Sat, Mar 2
8.05am Germany vs New Zealand
8.35pm Spain vs South Africa
4.05pm Japan vs Australia
4.35pm Belgium vs Argentina
6.05pm Cuba vs India
6.35pm Korea vs Poland
**8.05pm Pakistan vs Netherlands **
8.35pm England vs Malaysia
Sun, Mar 3
4.05pm Argentina vs New Zealand
**6.05pm Spain vs Pakistan **
6.35pm South Africa vs Belgium
8.05pm Netherlands vs Germany
Mon, Mar 4
4.05pm England vs Japan
6.05pm Malaysia vs Cuba
6.35pm Poland vs India
8.05pm Australia vs Korea
Tues, Mar 5
8.05am Belgium vs New Zealand
**8.35am Pakistan vs Germany **
4.05pm South Africa vs Netherlands
4.35pm Cuba vs Japan
6.05pm England vs Korea
6.35pm Australia vs India
8.05pm Argentina vs Spain
8.35pm Poland vs Malaysia
Wed, Mar 6 REST DAY
Thur, Mar 7
8.05am 13 - 16th 7 Pool A vs 8 Pool B
8.35pm 13 - 16th 7 Pool B vs 8 Pool A
4.05pm 9 - 12th 5 Pool A vs 6 Pool B
4.35pm 9 - 12th 5 Pool B vs 6 Pool A
6.35pm 5 - 8th 3 Pool A vs 4 Pool B
7.05pm 1 - 4th 1 Pool A vs 2 Pool B
9.05pm 5 - 8th 3 Pool B vs 4 Pool A
9.35pm 1 - 4th 1 Pool B vs 2 Pool A
Fri, Mar 8
8.05am 15 & 16th Loser MN 57 vs Loser MN 58
8.35am 13 & 14th Winner MN 57 vs Winner MN 58
5.05pm 11 & 12th Loser MN 59 vs Loser MN 60
5.35pm 7 & 8th Loser MN 61 vs Loser MN 63
7.35pm 9 & 10th Winner MN 59 vs Winner MN 60
8.05pm 5 & 6th Winner MN 61 vs Winner MN 63
Sat, Mar 9
5.35pm 3 & 4th Loser MN 62 vs Loser MN 64
8.05pm FINAL Winner MN 62 vs Winner MN 64