Williams to contest World Cup qualifiers with Hockeyroos

Mariah Williams has been busy competing with the Hockeyroos in Hobart and will soon fly to Chile where she will compete with the team for a spot in the World Cup. Mariah has been playing in the FIH Pro League in Hobart with the Hockeyroos campaign consisting of four games against Argentina and Ireland. Their first game was against Argentina where they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat with a single third-quarter strike proving the difference between the two world-class sides. In their second game it came down to a shootout against Ireland which the Hockeyroos were able to put away four to Ireland's two. This was the Hockeyroos' and Ireland's first meeting in a decade. Their third game saw Argentina gain momentum putting three goals away on the Hockeyroos. Argentina's 3-0 win ensured the side ended their campaign undefeated and reinforced their status as one of the world's premier sides. Their final game was against Ireland. Unfortunately this time Ireland proved too good for the Hockeyroos claiming the match with a 4-1 win. Looking ahead, Mariah has been selected in the Hockeyroos World Cup Qualifiers squad. The 18-athlete squad is set to travel to Chile for the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. The tournament will be hosted in Santiago where Australia will face Chile, France and Switzerland in pool play as they aim to secure qualification for the 2026 FIH Hockey Women's World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands from 15-30 August. The qualifiers are the final stage of qualification for this year's World Cup. The Hockeyroos will come up against France on 2 March, Chile 4 March and Switzerland 5 March before finals are held from 7-8 March.