 9 teams ranked between 12th and 20th in the FIH World Rankings current at the time of seeking entries for the competition qualified automatically.However, South Africa was chosen to host a Semifinal, hence exempt from Round 2 and leaving 8 teams qualified.Additionally 14 teams qualified from Round 1 as well as two nations that did not meet ranking criteria and were exempt from Round 1 to host a Round 2 tournament.