Ismailia (Egypt), March 6 Pakistan and England secured their spots in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 by winning their respective semi-finals at the qualifying tournament in Ismailia, Egypt, on Friday. England ensured their place with a convincing 7-1 victory over Malaysia, while Pakistan achieved a last-minute 4-3 win over Japan. The winners will meet in the final on Saturday.
Malaysia and Japan still have a chance to qualify for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 by winning the bronze medal playoff, also on Saturday. The highest-ranked fourth-place team from all the qualifying tournaments will also secure a World Cup spot.
Meanwhile, in the other match of the day in Ismailia, Egypt defeated Austria 4-0 and will face China in the playoff for fifth place.
England Defeat Malaysia in Semi-Final
England had a significant advantage in possession and territory throughout the match, but a highly organised and energetic Malaysian defence kept the score close in the first half. England's Jacob Payton missed an early shot from close range, and Will Calnan's shot went slightly wide of the goal before Sam Ward scored with a drag flick in the 19th minute. Malaysian goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman made two important saves to keep the score at 1-0 in England's favour at half-time.
England continued to apply pressure in the third quarter, and goals started to come. Sam Hooper scored a drag flick in the 36th minute, and Tom Sorsby scored with a reverse shot in the 41st. Stuart Rushmere brilliantly stopped a leading run, receiving a pass behind him and scoring a 4-0 lead.
Malaysia scored one goal in the 50th minute, with Faizal Saari sprinting 50 metres to receive a pass and fire across goal where Shafiq Hassan outpaced the scrambling English defence for an excellent deflection. England finished strongly, with Zach Wallace adding a short corner deflection in the 54th minute, and both Rushmere and Hooper completed their braces in the 59th and 60th minutes.
Late Goals Help Pakistan Qualify
Former champions Pakistan scored three late goals in a thrilling 4-3 win over Japan to secure their spot at the FIH Hockey World Cup.
Japan had an early chance to take the lead when Tsubasa Tanaka found himself one-on-one with the keeper, but he flipped it over the crossbar. Muhammad Ammad opened the scoring for Pakistan in the 9th minute, pouncing on the rebound after his first shot was saved by Takumi Kitagawa and deflected back to him off the post.
Japan were denied a couple of penalty corners, including a sensational Arshad Liaqat save on the post. They did level the scores in the 21st minute, with Ryoma Ooka finishing with a good deflection from open play to take the teams to the break locked at 1-1.
Shota Yamada scored for Japan in the 35th minute, and they extended their lead in the 41st. A clever overhead behind the Pakistani defence drew their goalkeeper out of his circle, but he couldn’t clear it, and Koji received the ball unmarked for a slap-in at the left post. The momentum seemed to be with Japan, but Pakistan dug deep and surged forward when the Japanese received a yellow card with 10 minutes remaining.
Abu Mahmood scored for Pakistan in the 52nd minute with a drag flick down the centre, and they drew level in the 55th when Sufyan Khan bulleted a drag flick between the goalkeeper and the post-man. There was plenty of drama at the finish. Afraz gave Pakistan the lead in the 57th minute with a sensational deflection from open play. Japan earned a penalty stroke immediately after, but Ali Raza saved it with his fully outstretched right foot to secure the win.
