‘We are fast, skillful, and we’re tough,’ says England captain Kate Richardson-Walsh about her team. 'We’re a good mix of new and experienced players.' Both England teams have high hopes for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014, even though they will both meet the reigning champions in the pool round. The England men’s captain Barry Middleton is equally upbeat. ‘We made it to the semi-finals in the last World Cup and that is our goal for the upcoming event.’

Hockey fever
The English women’s team are currently ranked third in the world and the men are fourth, places which reflect both teams’ final showing at the World Cup in 2010. The women also won bronze at the 2012 Olympics (as Great Britain), while the men picked up bronze at the Hockey World League finals last year. Hockey is currently high on the agenda in England. The country is hosting the 2015 EuroHockey championships, the Women's Champions event a year later, a round of the World League for men in 2017 and the next women’s World Cup in 2018.

World Cup app and Facebook
Want to know more about the English teams ? Download the World Cup app (App Store or Google play) or go to our Facebook page which this week focuses on England. There you can check out the video ‘This is England!’, featuring the captains and different players. You can find more extensive information on the website via the country pages.

England in the Netherlands
Dutch hockey club HGC in Wassenaar is hosting the English teams during the World Cup.