England defeated Pakistan 4–1 in the final of the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in Ismailia, Egypt on Saturday, capping a dominant campaign which saw them secure their place at the global tournament in August, along with Pakistan.
In the bronze medal match, Japan came from two goals down to beat Malaysia 5–4, although both teams could celebrate qualification for the FIH Hockey World Cup. Japan secured their place by claiming the bronze medal, while Malaysia also booked their ticket as the highest-ranked fourth-place finishers across the two qualifying tournaments.
Meanwhile, in the other match of the day, China clawed their way back to beat host Egypt 4-3 and secure fifth place in the tournament.
(Men’s) England 4 – 1 Pakistan
Pakistan gave it everything, but it was England who claimed a 4-1 win to secure the gold medal.
England earned their first penalty corner just 49 seconds after the start, but it wasn’t until the second quarter that they found the breakthrough. The lead came in the 18th minute when Henry Croft’s shot across goal took a fortunate deflection off a Pakistan defender. Pakistan played with great intensity for the remainder of the period, and while they may have frustrated the English attack, they were unable to turn that pressure into a goal of their own, leaving England 1–0 ahead at the half-time break.
Pakistan continued to apply pressure at the start of the third quarter, but it was England who struck again. Sam Hooper doubled their lead in the 35th minute with a powerful drag flick from a penalty corner. The English then slowed the tempo and began to retake control, and Hooper added a third goal five minutes later from another penalty corner. Pakistan were then finally rewarded for their persistence in the 42nd minute when Waleed Rana tapped in a cross from Ghazanfar Ali. But Ben Fox made absolutely sure of the England victory with another goal in the 52nd minute to wrap up a 4-1 win.
England’s Sam Hooper was named player of the match and said: “We came with the idea of winning the tournament, not just qualifying. Obviously, qualifying was the most important thing, but we really wanted to come out here and win every game and do that by playing our style, and I think we've done that all week. So we're really happy.”
(Men’s) Malaysia 4 – 5 Japan
Three goals in five minutes in the final quarter saw Japan come from behind to beat Malaysia 5-4 to seal their World Cup qualification.
The opening quarter was evenly contested until Japan broke the deadlock with just 30 seconds remaining before the first break. Ryoma Ooka finished off a swift counterattack, slapping the ball in from the edge of the circle to give his side a 1–0 lead. Once again, it was only in the closing moments of the next quarter that the scoreline changed. A skilful run along the baseline by Abu Kamal Azrai ended with a pass into a crowded goalmouth, where Fitri Saari was perfectly placed to tap in the equaliser for Malaysia. The goal ensured the teams went into half-time locked at 1–1.
A defensive error by Japan, who cleared the ball straight to Marhan Jalil at the top of the circle, allowed the Malaysian captain to fire it into the net and give his side a 2–1 lead. Malaysia’s third came from a penalty corner in the 36th minute when Syed Cholan’s drag flick took deflections off both the first runner and the post-man on its way in. Japan responded just two minutes later through Kazumata Matsumoto, who received the ball in the centre of the D and deftly deflected it into the goal to make it 3–2. The Japanese then drew level in the 52nd minute when Raiki Fujishima’s drag flick was gloved into the top of the net by the goalkeeper.
Koji Yamasaki then struck twice in quick succession, tapping in Japan’s fourth in the 55th minute before adding a fifth just two minutes later to put his side two goals clear. Malaysia pulled one back through a Faizal Saari drag flick from a penalty corner in the 59th minute, but it was not enough to stop Japan from clinching the bronze medal.
Japan’s Raiki Fujishima was named player of the match and said: “We lost yesterday. It was a pity, but we switched our minds, so we focused on today's game. Then we could play very well today. So, I’m very proud of our team.”
(Men’s) Egypt 3 – 4 China
China staged a sensational fightback with four late goals in their 4-3 win over hosts Egypt
A goalless first half certainly wasn’t a dull affair as Egypt started aggressively, racking up a couple of good circle entries and penalty corners in the opening minutes. China fought back to enjoy a similar period of attack without result, and the rest of the half saw the teams battle for the ascendancy. Both defensive penalty corner units have struggled at times in the tournament, and it was their improved running lines that kept the scores locked at 0-0 at half-time despite a combined total of seven penalty corners.
Egypt opened the scoring in the 31st minute, Zaid Adel tapping in from a well-worked penalty corner variation. They doubled their lead in the 36th when Mostafa Ragab flicked in from the left post area off a recycled penalty corner. Said Kamal swatted in their third from open play when the goalkeeper’s first save popped up to his strong stick side at waist height. Shihao Du pulled one back for China with a perfectly placed drag flick in the 43rd minute, and it sparked China into a higher gear as they entered the fourth quarter.
Rui Su fired China within range in the 53rd minute, hammering home after a simple one-two passing play into the circle. Egypt couldn’t capitalise on a series of penalty corners as their legs started to look heavy, and China took full advantage. Qijun Chen pounced on a penalty corner rebound to level the scores in the 56th, and Xu Au completed his side’s remarkable comeback with a penalty stroke in the 59th minute. Egypt earned a penalty corner with 22 seconds left on the clock, but a mis-trap ended any hope of taking the game to a penalty shootout.
Shihao Du of China received the player of the match and said: “This was an encouragement for ourselves and we will keep it up. We also learnt a lot from this tournament.”
Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers – 7 March 2026
Ismailia, Egypt (EGY)
Men
Result: Match 18 (M)
Egypt 3 - 4 China
Player of the match: Shihao Du (CHN)
Umpires: Steve Rogers (AUS), Annelize Rostron (RSA), Timothy Sheahan (AUS-video)
Result: Match 19 (M)
Malaysia 4 - 5 Japan
Player of the match: Raiki Fujishima (JPN)
Umpires: Jonas van 't Hek (NED), Irene Presenqui (ARG), Gareth Greenfield (NZL-video)
Result: Match 20 (M)
England 4 - 1 Pakistan
Player of the match: Sam Hooper (ENG)
Umpires: Sean Rapaport (RSA), Aziz Adimah (GHA), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN-video)
Individual awards:
Best junior player: Waleed Rana (PAK)
Best goalkeeper: Mohamed Gamal (EGY)
Hero top scorer: Ahmed Elganaini (EGY) (5 goals)
Best player: Tom Sorsby (ENG)
