Malaysia and Japan claimed vital victories at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers in Ismailia on Wednesday to book their tickets to the semi-finals.
The Malaysians held on for a 5-4 victory over China while Japan withstood a spirited fightback from Egypt, beating them 6-3 to join England and Pakistan in the final four. Pakistan had already secured their place before extending their winning run with a 4-2 victory over Austria on Wednesday.
The results of the group games mean England will play Malaysia and Pakistan will take on Japan in the semi-finals on Friday, with the winners of those matches guaranteed a ticket to the FIH Hockey World Cup this August.
(Men’s) Austria 2 – 4 Pakistan
Pakistan wrapped up the group stage with another win, beating Austria 4-2.
The match pitted contrasting styles against one another, but Austria did well to keep up with top-of-the-table Pakistan in the first half. The Pakistanis did get in front early, though, after successfully defending a penalty corner and counterattacking rapidly. Ghazanfar Ali produced a pinpoint pass across the goalkeeper for a diving Afraz to add the finishing touch in the 4th minute. It was a lead that they held onto through to half-time.
After failing to convert any of their previous eight penalty corners, Pakistan opted for a different variation late in the third quarter, and it paid dividends with Abu Mahmoud dragging in their second goal in the 44th minute. Austria responded at the start of the final period, Max Kelner reducing the deficit with a well-worked penalty corner variation of their own. But Pakistan stretched their lead to 3–1 in the 51st minute when Sufyan Khan’s drag flick took a deflection off the first-wave runner from yet another penalty corner. Less than a minute later, they struck again, Mahmood completing his brace with a fierce drag into the bottom left corner. Austria managed to narrow the gap once again, this time through a Max Scholz penalty stroke in the 53rd minute, but too much damage had already been done, and they were unable to claw their way back.
Ghazanfar Ali was named player of the match for Pakistan and said: “Austria is very good in the structure, but we played disciplined hockey in the last quarter and we won the game.”
(Men’s) Malaysia 5 – 4 China
Malaysia held their nerve to book their semi-final ticket with a 5-4 win over China in an entertaining encounter.
The Malaysians piled on plenty of pressure from the start and were rewarded for their efforts when Fitri Saari’s drag deflected in off a defender’s stick in the 5th minute.
The Chinese response was immediate, with Xu Ao feeding in for an outstanding one-handed finish from a sliding Yaqi Wang to level the scores just moments later. China then took the lead for the first time off a penalty stroke in the 16th minute, Yulai Zhao deftly lifting it into the top right corner of the net. Again, there was an immediate reply, but this time the Malaysian goal was disallowed. It wasn’t until two minutes before the half-time break that they found the equaliser when the initial deflection off a penalty corner variation was saved, but Aiman Rozemi was on hand to tap in for 2-2.
A beautiful deflection into the roof of the net off a penalty corner saw Faiz Jali edging Malaysia into the lead in the 36th minute. And despite being handed a five-minute yellow card, they managed to pull further in front with a penalty stroke in the 43rd, thanks again to Fitri Saari. Great work from Rozemi along the baseline ended with him popping the ball up to Faizal Saari to tap in Malaysia’s fifth at the start of the final quarter. The Chinese then pulled one back after a lovely piece of skill from Rui Su to set up Zhao for his second in the 51st minute. And they closed the gap even further when Benhai Chen rocketed in straight down the middle from a penalty corner three minutes later. But that was where the scoring ended, sending Malaysia into the semi-finals.
Malaysia’s Aiman Rozemi was named player of the match and said: “I am very happy about this game. I think we played well for the game, but we still need to focus a bit in the last quarter, because when we are leading, we always… give them the chance to come back.”
(Men’s) Japan 6 – 3 Egypt
In a match of massive momentum swings, Japan’s clinical start and composed finish proved decisive in a 6–3 defeat of Egypt which featured two hat-tricks.
The Japanese controlled the first quarter and opened the scoring from the first penalty corner of the match, captain Raiki Fujishima rifling a drag flick into the top right corner in the 7th minute. They doubled their advantage moments later when Koji Yamasaki’s tomahawk from the top of the circle picked out Ryosuke Shinohara in front of goal to apply a deft deflection for Japan’s second. The third arrived via a swift counterattack after Egypt failed to make their second penalty corner count, Kazumasa Matsumoto crashing the ball home in the 11th minute.
A defensive lapse in the 22nd minute handed Egypt a lifeline, a loose turnover inside the Japanese circle presenting a gilt-edged chance that Ahmed Elganaini gratefully accepted. Japan were 3-1 at the half-time break.
A well-worked penalty corner variation in the 33rd minute saw Egypt right back in the match, with Elganaini providing the final touch to make it 3-2. Elganaini then completed his hat-trick with a field goal moments later to pull his side level. After a long period of Egyptian dominance, Japan managed to score against the run of play when Matsumoto slapped in his second in the 40th minute. And Fujishima put the result beyond doubt when he produced a phenomenal drag in the 52nd and another in the 59th to complete his own hat-trick and seal a somewhat flattering 6-3 win.
Japan’s Koji Yamasaki was named player of the match and said: “It was a tough game. But we won. I’m really happy.”
To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, click here.
Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers – 4 March 2026
Ismailia, Egypt (EGY)
Men
Result: Match 9 (M)
Austria 2 - 4 Pakistan
Player of the match: Ghazanfar Ali (PAK)
Umpires: Gareth Greenfield (NZL), Irene Presenqui (ARG), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN-video)
Result: Match 10 (M)
Malaysia 5 - 4 China
Player of the match: Aiman Rozemi (MAS)
Umpires: Annelize Rostron (RSA), Timothy Sheahan (AUS), Steve Rogers (AUS-video)
Result: Match 12 (M)
Japan 6 - 3 Egypt
Player of the match: Koji Yamasaki (JPN)
Umpires: Jonas van ’t Hek (NED), Aziz Adimah (GHA), Sean Rapaport (RSA-video)
