Pakistan and England booked their tickets to the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 by winning their respective semi-finals at the qualifying tournament in Ismailia, Egypt on Friday.

England made sure of their spot with an emphatic 7-1 win over Malaysia while Pakistan pulled off a last-gasp 4-3 victory 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 across all the qualifying tournaments will also secure a World Cup place.

Meanwhile, in the other match of the day in Ismailia, Egypt claimed a comprehensive 4-0 win over Austria and will take on China in the playoff for fifth place.

(Men’s) England 7 – 1 Malaysia

England racked up six goals in the second half as they advanced to the final with an emphatic 7-1 win over Malaysia.

England enjoyed a significant advantage in possession and territory throughout the match, but a highly organised and energetic Malaysian defence kept the scoreline tight in the first half. England’s Jacob Payton bunted an early shot wide from close range, and Will Calnan pulled a tomahawk shot slightly left of goal before Sam Ward fired them ahead with a 19^th minute drag flick. Malaysian goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman made two important saves to keep the score at 1-0 in England’s favour at half time.

England kept applying pressure in the third quarter and the goals started to come. Sam Hooper landed a heavy drag flick in the 36^th minute, and Tom Sorsby rifled a reverse strike into the roof of the net in the 41^st. Stuart Rushmere did brilliantly to stop his leading run on a dime, collecting a pass behind him on the reverse stick and steering it in for a 4-0 lead. Malaysia pulled one back in the 50^th minute, 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 delicate short corner deflection in the 54^th minute, and both Rushmere and Hooper completing their braces in the 59^th and 60^th.

The player of the match was awarded to England’s Zach Wallace.

(Men’s) Pakistan 4 – 3 Japan

Pakistan grabbed three late goals in a thrilling 4-3 win over Japan to secure their spot at the FIH Hockey World Cup.

The Japanese had an early chance to go ahead when Tsubasa Tanaka found himself one-on-one against the keeper, but he flipped it over the crossbar. Muhammad Ammad opened the scoring for Pakistan in the 9^th 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 from a couple of penalty corners, including a sensational Arshad Liaqat save on the post. They did level the scores in the 21^st minute though, Ryoma Ooka finishing with a good deflection from open play to take the teams to the break locked at 1-1.

Shota Yamada edged Japan ahead with his 35^th minute drag flick, and they doubled their lead in the 41^st. A clever overhead behind the Pakistani defence drew their goalkeeper out of his circle, but he couldn’t clear to safety 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 reduced the deficit to one goal with his 52^nd minute drag flick down the centre, and they drew level in the 55^th 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 57^th minute with a sensational deflection from open play. Japan earned a penalty stroke immediately after, but Ali Raza read it well and saved it with his fully outstretched right foot to secure the win.

Muhammad Ammad was named the player of the match for Pakistan.

(Men’s) Egypt 4 – 0 Austria

There was plenty to celebrate for the hosts as Egypt marked Mohamed Ragab’s 100^th international cap with a commanding 4–0 victory over Austria.

The Egyptians struck first in the 9^th minute when their second penalty corner of the match led to a penalty stroke after an Austrian defender was struck on the line. Ahmed Elganaini calmly stepped up and slotted the stroke into the right corner of the net to give the hosts the lead. The home side enjoyed the majority of possession during the second quarter and were rewarded again in the 25^th minute. A crash ball into the circle from Mohamed Adel on the right found an unmarked Hussein Awad at the far post, and he fired it home to double Egypt’s advantage. The Egyptians had an opportunity to extend their lead to three goals with just over four minutes remaining in the half, but they missed a second penalty stroke and had to settle for a 2–0 lead heading into the break.

Egypt lost some of their momentum at the start of the third quarter as Austria began to take greater control of possession. However, the Austrians were unable to capitalise, failing to convert any of their three penalty corners during the period (or indeed nine in the match). Egypt restored their grip on the game early in the final quarter when a clever penalty corner variation ended with a beautifully angled drag flick from Mahmoud Mamdouh to make it 3–0 in the 47^th minute. The result was effectively sealed soon afterwards when a superb aerial pass from Ahmed Elganaini found Ziad Adel on the baseline. He controlled the ball well before smashing it in from an acute angle to wrap up a 4–0 victory.

Egypt’s Mohamed Ragab was named as player of the match and said: “I’m very happy with my 100^th game and also with the performance today of the team and all the players as well. We helped each other to achieve this win today.”

Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers – 6 March 2026

Ismailia, Egypt (EGY)

Men

Result: Match 13 (M)

Egypt 4 - 0 Austria

Player of the match: Mohamed Ragab (EGY)

Umpires: Jonas van ’t Hek (NED), Annelize Rostron (RSA), Timothy Sheahan (AUS-video)

Result: Match 15 (M)

England 7 - 1 Malaysia (SF)

Player of the match: Zach Wallace (England)

Umpires: Gareth Greenfield (NZL), Hideki Kinoshita (JPN), Irene Presenqui (ARG-video)

Result: Match 16 (M)

Pakistan 4 - 3 Japan (SF)

Player of the match: Muhammad Ammad (PAK)

Umpires: Steve Rogers (AUS), Adrien Raphaël (GER), Annelize Rostron (RSA-video)