Match Schedule for Rabo Junior Hockey World Cup; Free entry for spectators

The match schedule for the men's Rabo Hockey Junior World Cup has been released, with more than 60 matches to be played over nine competition days before the new world champion is crowned in Rotterdam on 10 July.

Host organiser KNHB has announced that free entry will be granted to spectators for the duration of the 12-day event, an exciting initiative sure to boost the attendance and profile of the world's premier Under 21 men's hockey tournament.

The tournament starts at 11am on Wednesday 29 June with a Pool C clash between Chile and top seeds Australia. All teams will compete on the first day, with the match-ups between Spain and Germany in Pool A, and Argentina and Germany in Pool B, shaping as exciting contests.

Tournament hosts Netherlands will complete the first day's matches against Poland on Pitch 1.

With 16 teams competing, two pitches will be in operation, guaranteeing more than eight hours of continuous world-class hockey over the first three competition days.

The third day's play, Saturday, 2 July, shapes as an important day for the make-up of the Pools, with the clashes between Australia and Pakistan, Netherlands and India, and England and Korea likely to heavily influence the composition of the Pools heading into the Medal Rounds.

With uncertainty over the participants in the Medal Rounds, the draw for the matches on Saturday, 3 July, Tuesday, 5 July, and Wednesday, 6 July, will be conducted at the completion of the Pool phase to ensure that matches likely to draw significant spectators are drawn on Pitch 1 with a larger seating capacity.

Competition Format
Each team will play every other team in its Pool once (three matches), before the top three progress to the next phase. The fourth-placed teams in each Pool will play off for 13th-16th position.

At this stage, the four Pools will combine to form two Groups of six. Teams will take forward the points earned against the other qualified teams from their Pool and then play the remaining teams not from their original Pool to complete six preliminary round matches.

The top two teams in each six-team Group at the end of this phase of the competition will progress to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi finals will contest the final.

The Rabo Hockey Junior World Cup will be the eighth staging of the event, with the last edition in 2001 won by India in Hobart, Australia. Germany has dominated with four titles in the 26-year history of the event, with Pakistan and Australia the other teams to have won the coveted Junior World Cup crown.